Syria
US Senator Lindsey Graham holds a media conference in Ankara, Turkey on January 19, 2019. File photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Veteran US Senator Lindsey Graham warned on Monday that he would push to reimpose "bone-crushing sanctions" on Syria if its forces continue advancing toward Kurdish-held Raqqa, cautioning that their actions could "permanently" damage ties with Washington.
In a statement on X, Graham said that "if Syrian government forces continue to advance in the north toward Raqqa, I will push for reimposing Caesar Act sanctions on steroids."
He added, "Apparently no one in Syria is listening to me or other U.S. government officials," warning that "if this continues, not only will there be bone-crushing sanctions, it will permanently damage relationships between the U.S. and the new Syrian government."
The prominent American lawmaker further noted that he "tried to be fair to the new government" in Damascus, "but apparently it’s falling on deaf ears.
"If you want a conflict with the U.S. Senate and to do permanent damage to the U.S.-Syria relationship, keep going. If you want to salvage the relationship, stop and turn around," he affirmed.
Graham’s remarks came shortly after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released a gruesome video on X on Monday, showing at least four individuals, presumably members of the Kurdish-led forces, in military uniforms with slit throats and mutilated bodies.
The SDF remarked, “In a heinous crime committed by Damascus government forces, they beheaded a group of our fighters during their capture and recorded the operation on video in the style of the [Islamic State] ISIS terrorist organization."
The Kurdish-led forces further urged "the international community to take decisive action to stop these violations and hold those responsible accountable."
The Kurdish-led SDF serves as the de facto military force in the region. Until Syria joined the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in November, the SDF had been the coalition’s sole on-the-ground partner, playing a key role in ISIS’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led forces reported that at least nine of its fighters were killed and 20 others injured in clashes with Damascus-affiliated armed groups near al-Aqtan prison, which houses ISIS members in Raqqa.
Prior to that, the Kurdish-led forces said they had lost control of al-Shaddadi prison to armed groups in Hasaka province, noting that the facility houses “thousands of ISIS militants.”
The escalation in Rojava occurred less than 24 hours after Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that he had signed a 14-point agreement with SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi to “immediately” halt violence in the Kurdish-led enclave and integrate areas administered by the SDF into state institutions.
Under the accord, Damascus is set to assume responsibility for ISIS detainees and their families currently held by the SDF.
Shortly after its announcement, the veteran US Senator, Graham, cast doubt on the 14-point agreement stating, "I have not recieved nor do I know any Senator that has received a detailed analysis of the agreement," adding, "I have concerns and questions."
RELATED: US senator voices concerns over SDF-Damascus deal, says senators need details
Last updated at 9:00 pm
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