NEWS CENTER - Referring to recent developments in Syria, journalist Chris Den Hond stated that HTŞ member Shara is supported by Turkey and international powers, adding, "Turkey pushed, and are still pushing, for the Kurds to surrender and just to become citizens without political or military autonomy.”

 

As attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and paramilitary groups supported by Turkey continue in northern and eastern Syria, Mazlum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced that they had decided to withdraw their forces from Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa to prevent the clashes from escalating further. Abdi is expected to travel to Damascus today to meet with Ahmed al-Shara. 

 

Belgian journalist Chris Den Hond, who has been working in the Middle East, particularly Syria, for a long time, spoke to the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) about the process. 

 

‘TURKEY PREVENTED A POSSIBLE DEAL’

 

Referring to developments in Syria since the regime change, Hond stated that the 10 March Agreement signed between HTS and SDF in March 2025 was a vague agreement and that until last week, the agreement had been periodically assessed as both optimistic and pessimistic.  Hond said that it was not clear how far Shara would go or how many concessions the Kurdish side would make, adding, "An agreement was imminent between both sides. And then suddenly, the Syrian Minister of Defense entered the room and said, ‘Stop, no agreement.’ Behind him was Hakan Fidan, the Turkish minister. And the Turks prevented any agreement. At the same time, in Paris, there was a meeting between Israel, Damascus, and the United States (US) in order to reach an agreement about Israel and Turkey in Syria. At that same moment, Hakan Fidan was also present at that meeting. Turkey is everywhere with this new regime, and they prevented an imminent deal between Ahmed Alshara and Mazlum Abdi. The day after the Paris meeting, the attacks started in Aleppo, in the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maksoud. There had been an agreement for Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafieh, the Kurdish-majority areas in Aleppo, which had lasted since April last year. The YPG and the SDF withdrew, and in their place came a kind of Kurdish police, the Asayish, who were coordinating with Damascus. This was a good agreement. It functioned. The schools functioned, the public services functioned. And suddenly, Turkey said there could be no Kurdish police in Aleppo. And within two days, 500 people were arrested. We don’t know where they are. So that was Aleppo.”

 

Hond pointed out that groups affiliated with HTS had advanced towards the Euphrates, but that under the 10 March Agreement, the east of the Euphrates should remain under SDF control. “But the Syrian army did not respect that. They took Tabqa, where there was a statue of a Kurdish woman martyr who gave her life in the fight against ISIS. The Syrian militias destroyed this statue. And then they attacked Raqqa. The problem in Raqqa is that the Arab tribes shifted their support from the SDF to the Damascus regime. And that makes it very difficult for the Kurdish-led coalition to maintain control over Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. And we don’t know what will happen with Hasake,” he said. 

 

‘TURKEY IS FORCING SURRENDER’

 

Hond said that Turkey's role is extremely negative, added that Turkey has been monitoring every step since the fall of the Assad regime: " if he was doing something relatively good for the Kurds and their allies, Turkey immediately said, ‘Stop, veto, no agreement.’ They pushed, and they are still pushing, for the Kurds to surrender. I mean political and military surrender, just to become citizens without political or military autonomy.”

 

'INTERNATIONAL POWERS SUPPORT SHARA'

 

Regarding the weak stance of international powers, Hond concluded: " For me, first of all, the main issue is local support, the link between Kurds and Arabs. That was the main strength of the SDF and the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria: coexistence between components. That is the main issue. Even today, the international coalition is watching what is happening on the ground. And the US and France also consider the Kurds to be too maximalist. They think the Kurds should join the Syrian army, join the institutions, and accept a unified Syria. They think the Kurds should not ask for too much, because these international powers support Ahmed Alshara. Why? Because Ahmed Al-Shara is there as a protégé of Turkey against the resistance. The Ahmed Alshara regime is friendly with Western powers.

As for the US, we don’t know what the US is doing. Tom Barrack is a real estate agent; he is not a very competent person who knows what he is doing. And I don’t have to say what kind of person Trump is. The Pentagon is different; they are following the moves on the ground. The crucial thing on the ground was and still is coexistence and the link between the Kurdish and Arab populations. And here we must say that the Arab tribes in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor betrayed. If the US, France, and Great Britain wanted to, they could impose on the Damascus regime respect for the natural border of the Euphrates. But they did not impose it. Now they are pushing the SDF to integrate. But if they really wanted to impose it, they could. They are able to impose this. But at this moment, they are not doing so.”

 

MA / Hivda Celebi