Syria’s Deadly Wrong Turn

Excerpt

War-ravaged Syria appears to be on the brink of fracturing again. Various rebel groups, united only in their hatred for deposed President Bashar al-Assad, are now looking at each other not as allies, but through gun sights.

Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, had ambitions of uniting his country when he took control of the capital, Damascus, in December. However, he has taken a wrong turn by playing favorites and consolidating power in his own hands. And despite his efforts, armed groups are targeting each other—and civilians—for revenge over religious and ethnic differences. Shara is working to bring these groups together in one army, but talks with one of the largest factions, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have broken down.

The SDF controls 30 percent of Syrian territory, mainly in the northeast. Damascus needs this part of Syria badly. It has key oil fields and contains prisons and camps holding thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and their families, who nobody wants to see freed.

A March 10 US-brokered agreement between Shara’s government and Kurds has led to prisoner exchanges and some troop withdrawals, but greater integration has failed. A Paris conference meant to get things back on track was canceled on August 9. But it is Shara’s government that has failed to uphold its commitments. Since March, Shara has consolidated control over every pillar of government through an interim constitution, without consulting the Kurds or addressing their demands for cultural rights and political participation.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs and the Levant.