Syria rejects Kurd bid to keep weapons: government source
by AFP Staff Writers
Damascus (AFP) July 24, 2025

Syria has rejected Kurdish demands to keep their weapons, a government source said Thursday, as a new round of talks on the Kurds' integration into the state was set to begin.

The Kurds, who control large swathes of the north and east, are negotiating with the central government on the integration of their civil and military institutions into the state.

Those include the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is Kurdish-led.

"Talking about refusing to hand over weapons or maintaining an autonomous military force is completely unacceptable," the source told the state broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya.

According to the source, such a position "contradicts the principles of unifying the national army and the agreement reached last March between Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi".

In March, Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed a deal to incorporate Kurdish institutions into the Syrian state.

While talks have been held regularly since then, progress has stalled.

Recent unrest in the south, where the new authorities have attempted to subdue the Druze minority, as well as ongoing violence targeting the Alawite community, has deepened Kurdish concerns.

According to the Kurdish news agency Hawar, a planned meeting on Thursday in Paris between Kurdish representatives and a Syrian government delegation was postponed.

During the recent violence in the southern Druze heartland of Sweida -- which left nearly 1,400 dead -- a senior Syrian Kurdish official called on the central government to urgently and comprehensively rethink its approach to minorities.

Damascus, meanwhile, insists on reunifying the country at any cost.

The government source's comments came a day after SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami told al-Yaum TV that disarmament is a "red line".

"No one is surrendering in Syria. Those betting on our capitulation will lose -- the tragic events have made that clear," he added, referring to the communal violence in Sweida.

Reacting to this, the Syrian government source said: "Using the events in Sweida or along the coast to justify refusing to return to the state fold is a manipulation of public opinion".

"A genuine national dialogue cannot happen under the threat of weapons or with backing from foreign powers," the source added.

On Saturday, Abdi, who is backed by Washington, met with US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack to discuss the southern unrest, according to the US embassy in Syria on X.

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