Syrian Kurdish official praises US decision to provide arms

BEIRUT (AP) — A top Syrian Kurdish official on Wednesday welcomed the U.S. decision to arm Kurdish fighters with heavier weapons, saying it would “legitimize” the force as it prepares to march on Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group.

But the decision, announced by the Trump administration Tuesday, is sure to rattle Turkey, which considers the Syrian Kurdish group, known as the YPG, to be a terror organization.

The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which has driven the IS group from much of northern Syria with the help of U.S. air support. The U.S. is eager to expel IS from Raqqa and sees the Syrian Kurds, who are among the most effective fighters in the country, as the best placed force for the task.

Ilham Ahmed, a top official in the Syrian Democratic Forces’ political office, said the decision to provide heavier arms carries “political meaning” and “legitimizes the YPG and the Syrian Democratic Forces.”

She said the decision is likely to be met with “aggression” from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is to visit Washington next week.

The SDF’s rapid advance against IS last year prompted Turkey to send ground forces across the border for the first time in the more than six-year-old civil war to help allied Syrian opposition forces to battle IS and halt the Kurds’ progress.

Since then, Turkey is believed to have positioned more than 5,000 troops in northern Syria, and has escalated its airstrikes and cross border artillery attacks against the Kurdish forces.

A Turkish air raid in late April killed 20 YPG fighters and media officials, prompting the U.S. to deploy armored vehicles along the border in a show of support for the group.

Source: www.apnews.com