Gen. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key U.S. ally whose fighters are currently guarding 45,000 ISIS fighters and their families in camps and prisons in eastern Syria, told Fox News said in an exclusive interview. Despite Wednesday’s US-brokered ceasefire agreement, the military and its allies continue to attack Kurdish forces.
“We are still under constant attack from the Turkish military and the Turkish-backed rebel group called SNA,” General Mazlum told FOX. “There are 80 drone attacks a day from the Turkish military, as well as intensive artillery fire. This situation has paralyzed our counterterrorism operations.”
Since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, Turkish military attacks on the SDF have increased. General Mazloum warned that if Kurdish fighters had to flee, ISIS would return.
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General Mazloum said that half of the fighters guarding the ISIS camp had been forced to withdraw in recent days.
“All prisons are still under our control. But prisons and detention centers are in a critical situation, because who is guarding the prisons? They are leaving and they have to protect their families. body,” General Mazloum said in an interview from the base. Eastern Syria. “One example is something like the ISIS Raqqa prison, where about 1,000 former ISIS fighters are held. The number of guards there has been cut in half, leaving them in a vulnerable position. There is.”
A chilling warning from one of America’s most loyal allies. The US has 900 troops stationed in eastern Syria and could be forced to leave if allied Kurdish fighters withdraw following attacks by Turkish forces, which view the Kurds as a terrorist threat. is high.
“We don’t want that to happen. That’s why we’re in very close contact with our SDF partners to maintain our focus on the counter-ISIS mission. And we’re just as importantly “We are also in contact with our Turkish counterpart.” National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby during a White House press briefing on Thursday.
A masked Islamic State terrorist poses with an ISIS flag. (Photo by Getty Images from History/Universal Images Group)
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Turkey today and is meeting with President Recep Erdogan to discuss ways to bring stability to Syria.
State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement after the meeting with the president that Secretary Blinken “is committed to ensuring that all parties in Syria respect human rights, abide by international humanitarian law, and protect civilians, including ethnic minorities. “We reiterated the importance of taking all practicable steps to address the issue.” Erdoğan. “He emphasized the need to ensure that the coalition can continue to fulfill its critical mission of defeating ISIS.”
CENTCOM Commander Eric Kurilla met with General Mazloum and the Self-Defense Forces in Syria on Tuesday, two days after the US military conducted a major airstrike targeting dozens of ISIS strongholds in eastern Syria. The operation used U.S. Air Force B-52s, F-15s and A-10s to attack more than 75 targets, including camps and operatives, according to a statement released by U.S. Central Command.
“There is no question: we will not allow ISIS to regroup and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” Kurilla said. “All organizations in Syria should know that we will be held accountable if we partner with or support ISIS in any way.”
General Mazloum announced early Wednesday, brokered by the United States, that the SDF had announced a ceasefire with Syria’s Turkish-backed rebels in northern Manbij “to ensure the safety and security of civilians.”
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“The Manbij Military Council fighters, who have been resisting the attack since November 27, will withdraw from the area as soon as possible,” General Mazloum added.
And new signs suggest a ceasefire was tentatively agreed late Thursday in Aleppo and Deir Ezzor, south of Raqqa along the Euphrates River.
Syrians gather in Umayyad Square to celebrate the fall of 61 years of Baathist rule in Damascus, Syria, December 9, 2024. (Murat Sengur/Anadolu via Getty Images)
General Mazloum is concerned about what would happen if the US pulled its troops out of Syria now.
“We’ve seen that Russia doesn’t have any more influence in this country, and neither does Iran. So now, if U.S. forces withdraw from Syria, there will be a vacuum.”
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He further warned that “we hope that Islamists from different factions will unite to fight ISIS, which will bring more hardline extremists and terrorist organizations back into the country.” .
SDF commanders fear another bloody civil war could begin if Syria’s new government in Damascus does not include different ethnic minorities such as Syrian Kurds.
Displaced Kurds leave a refugee camp in northern Aleppo and seek refuge in Afrin on December 4, 2024. (Ugur Yildirim/DIA Images/Abaca/Sipa USA(Sipa via AP Images)
“Therefore, the new government in Syria needs to be representative, it needs to be inclusive, it needs to contain and include all political parties in Syria. Therefore, there will be a bloody civil war in the country and it will escalate. “No one can predict its fate,” General Mazloum told Fox.
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Faced with Turkish warplanes, the Japan Self-Defense Forces accidentally shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in Syria on Monday, a result of a “mutual fire,” a U.S. defense official told Fox News. Ta. “U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters under attack by Turkish forces misidentified the drone as a threat,” the official said.
