Syria: Kurds liberate several cities – but fear chemical and biological weapons

Kurds celebrate in liberated Kobane

By Harem Karem:

While fierce fighting between the Syrian regime and rebel groups is ongoing in most parts of Syria, Damascus remains strategically the most important pillar of the Assad regime. The Free Kurdish Army, formed from the Democratic Union Party, is advancing in the north and has so far managed to liberate several Kurdish-populated towns and cities, namely: Kobane, Efrin, Dirik, Amude, Derbasia and Sari. Fighting continues in Qamishli and the Free Kurdish Army has surrounded the city and given the occupying Syrian Army an ultimatum to quit.

Some of these Kurdish rebels have historical ties with the Party Krekaren Kurdistan (PKK), while others have either defected from the Syrian army or been trained by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In an interview with Al Jazeera TV on Sunday, President Barzani confirmed that, “young Syrian Kurds have been trained by the KRG and are ready to go back when needed”.

Barzani’s confirmation came hours after unverified video clips were posted on the internet claiming that Peshmerga forces have been deployed to the liberated regions in Syria. Deputy Minister for Peshmerga Affairs, Anwer Osman, denied this. “Peshmerga have not been deployed to the liberated parts of Western Kurdistan (North Syria). Brigade Eight is responsible for defending the Kurdistan region’s border with Syria, and two regiments from Brigade Eight are currently based on the border to protect the oil fields,” he claimed.

In the meantime, local media have reported that around 2,000 PKK guerrillas have been deployed to the recently-liberated regions of Western Kurdistan, although the PKK has denied this.

There are growing concerns that, despite its own chemical and biological weapons and avoidance of signing 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention, the Assad regime might have obtained some of the former Iraqi regime’s weapons of mass destruction.

According to another unverified video clip, the regime is currently using a mild form of chemical weapons on its population. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) still appears to be lagging behind in pin-pointing the location of the country’s chemical and biological weapons. US administration officials are in talks with officials in Turkey and Israel over how to manage a Syrian government collapse.

A State Department report published in 2011 on the compliance of countries with arms control and non-proliferation agreements said it “remained unclear” whether Syria would use biological weapons as a military option or whether Syria had violated the Biological Weapons Convention.

No one will be reassured by today’s announcement by a regime spokesman that it will not use chemical weapons against domestic opponents. Desperate dictators can easily resort to desperate measures.

Against this background, the US and Turkey have learned lessons from Iraq by putting in place broad contingency plans to secure Syria’s borders, airports and sea ports in order to prevent Syrian weapons from falling into the wrong hands during the regime’s collapse. Turkey deployed more military resources to its southern border with Syria including ground-to-air missiles as a precautionary measure. Furthermore, the US warships have long been positioned in the Gulf and ready to engage when necessary.

Assad has rejected latest calls from Arab League nations to swiftly give up power in order to end his country’s unrest. Although Assad’s days might be numbered, he is still holding on to the last card and there is no guarantee that he will not employ his WMD during his last hours.

Observers believe that Turkey has lost the game following the Hawler (Erbil) agreement between the Western Kurds and the formation of the People’s Defence Alliance (YPG) earlier this month. Turkey might ultimately end up with another Kurdish neighbour to its southern border.

Questions that remain unanswered, following Barzani’s bold remarks about the Syrian regime, include: What measures have the KRG or indeed the Iraqi government put in place to protect its borders and airspace? And, while the KRG has trained the Free Kurdish Army to fight Assad’s regime, have they pushed for Western Kurdistan to be qualified for U.N. Security protection? The KRG appears to have no contingency plans to deal with the collapse of the Syrian regime or indeed the aftermath of any chemical or biological weapons attack that might occur.

Twitter: @HaremKarem