After the the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Kurdish controlled northern and north-easter part of Syria handed over cities to the Assad regime during the recent Turkish military operation after US troops had left the region, the General Command of the Syrian Army and armed forces together with the Ministry of Defense decided to integrate the military parts of the SDF.
The Middle East and North Africa Observatory (MENA Monitor) received a leak from the Syrian Ministry of Defense, indicating that the Syrian Deputy Minister of Defense, Mahmoud Abdel Wahab al-Shawa, issued and signed a stating the following: “Kurdish groups and People’s Committees in al-Hasakah, al-Raqqa and its rural areas and the countryside of Aleppo governorate shall be allowed to comply with the laws and regulations in force in the ranks of the armed forces as of 18-10-1919”. Showa said that the decision was issued by the General Command of the Army and the armed forces, supervised by the brothers “Assad” Maher and Bashar, where the decision was started “on the decision of the General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces.”
The resolution specified the fact that Kurdish militia members must wear Syrian Army symbols, and the limits of behavior and behaviors allowed to those serving in the Syrian army.
The text of the resolution clearly specifies that in the Northern territories, only official Syrian:symbols are allowed, whereas Kurdish symbols will not be tolerated: “The flag is the flag of the Syrian Arab Republic, which has two green stars”. It is prohibited to raise any flag of any political or military body that does not belong to the Syrian Arab Republic or the Syrian armed forces.
The decision by the Syrian Deputy Defense Minister, Mahmoud Abdel-Wahab al-Shawa, excluded the Russian flag from banned banners: “The Russian Federation’s flag is excluded in the event of a Russian military or security force in the same area.”
“It is strictly forbidden to raise the flag of the Syrian Arab Republic along with portraits of leaders, dead or political, religious or ethnic symbols not belonging to the Syrian Arab Republic.
He concluded the military decision by determining the order hierarchy of separatist militias within the Syrian Army, stating that SDF members should only serve as subordinates to official Syrian military and would not be allowed to lead operations: “The work is being conducted under the supervision of the commanders of the military contingents and the representatives of the security committee closest to the deployment areas of those elements concerned.”
The Assad regime regards this as returning the favor to the separatist militias handed over to its former control areas, after US forces abandoned it, including the oil wells it had relied on to secure economic independence in the Kurdish canton it wanted to build.
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