Syrian government, opposition reject Kurds’ ‘federal region’

As Syria struggles to bring back normalcy in the country, the Syrian government and its opponents have rejected a declaration of a federal region in northern Syria by Syrian Kurds. The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that the declaration made in the town of Rmeilan in Syria’s Hassakeh province is unconstitutional and worthless. The rebels have also been warned against any attempt to encroach the integrity of Syrian territories. The move by the Kurds was also rejected by the Syrian National Coalition, one of the main Syrian opposition groups. The opposition group has rejected such unilateral declarations and warned against any attempts to form autonomous regions that “confiscate the will of the Syrian people”. The reactions came in the backdrop of Syria’s main Kurdish faction, the Democratic Union Party, had declared Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria as a federal region. Responding to the declaration, a Kurdish official said that the main Syrian Kurdish faction has declared a federal region in Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria. An official with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Nawaf Khalil said that the announcement was made on March 17 at a Kurdish conference. The conference was held in the town of Rmeilan in the northern province of Hassakeh. Escalation of crisis The latest move by the Kurds is likely to escalate tensions in the strife-torn country. Apart from combating the Islamic State (IS), handling the Kurdish declaration will be difficult for the weakened Assad regime. Speaking about the federal autonomous region, Mr Khalil said that the declared federal region was called “Rojava – northern Syria”. Rojava refers to three distinct enclaves, or cantons, under Kurdish control in northern Syria comprising Jazira, Kobani and Afrin.