In an exclusive interview with Fox News, General Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a key US ally whose fighters are currently guarding 45,000 ISIS fighters and their families in camps and prisons in eastern Syria, said that the Turkish army and allied forces continue to attack his forces. Kurdish, though US-brokered ceasefire Wednesday deal.
“We are still under constant attack from the Turkish army and the Turkish-backed opposition called the Syrian National Army,” General Mazloum told Fox. He added: “Eighty drone attacks are launched by the Turkish army every day. There are intense artillery shelling. This situation has paralyzed our anti-terrorism operation.”
The attacks he carried out Turkish army Attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces have increased since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8. General Mazloum warned that if his Kurdish fighters were forced to flee, ISIS would return.
General Mazloum said that half of his fighters guarding ISIS camps had to withdraw in recent days.
“All the prisons are still under our control,” General Mazloum said in an interview from his base in Baghdad. “But the prisons and camps are in a critical situation because who is guarding them? They are leaving and they have to protect their families.” Eastern Syria. “I can give you one example like the ISIS prison in Raqqa, which holds about 1,000 prisoners Former ISIS fighters. “The number of guards there has been reduced by half, which puts them in a vulnerable position.”
A dire warning from one of America's most powerful allies. The United States has 900 troops in eastern Syria, and they are likely to withdraw if allied Kurdish fighters withdraw under attack from the Turkish military, which considers the Kurds a terrorist threat.
“We don't want to see that happen,” he said. “So we are in very close contact with our partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces to try to maintain that focus on counter-ISIS missions. And just as importantly, we are in contact with our Turkish counterparts.” National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby during a White House news conference on Thursday.
A masked ISIS terrorist carrying an ISIS flag. (Photos from the History/Universal Images collection via Getty Images)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Türkiye today to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss how to stabilize Syria.
Secretary Blinken State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement following the meeting with President Erdogan: “We stressed the importance of all actors in Syria respecting human rights, respecting international humanitarian law, and taking all possible steps to protect civilians, including members of minorities.” He stressed the need to ensure the coalition's ability to continue implementing its crucial mission to defeat ISIS.
Commander of US Central Command, General Eric Kurella, met with General Mazloum and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria on Tuesday, two days after the US military carried out large-scale air strikes targeting dozens of ISIS positions in eastern Syria. The operation hit more than 75 targets — camps and activists — using US Air Force B-52, F-15 and A-10 aircraft, according to a statement from US Central Command.
“There should be no doubt that we will not allow ISIS to regroup and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” Kurella said. He added: “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they participate with ISIS or support it in any way.”
On Wednesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces announced a truce with Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in northern Manbij after American mediation “to ensure the safety and security of civilians,” General Mazloum said early Wednesday.
An American group searches for kidnapped Americans in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime
Brigadier General Mazloum added, “The fighters of the Manbij Military Council, who have been resisting the attacks since November 27, will withdraw from the region as soon as possible.”
New indications indicate that a ceasefire was initially agreed upon late Thursday in Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor, south of Raqqa along the Euphrates River.
Syrians gather in Umayyad Square to celebrate the collapse of 61 years of Baath Party rule in Damascus, Syria on December 9, 2024. (Murat Singul/Anadolu via Getty Images)
General Mazloum is concerned about what would happen if the United States withdraws its forces from Syria now.
“We've seen that the Russians – who don't have any other influence in the country – are the same with the Iranians. So, if US forces now withdraw from Syria, it will create a vacuum.”
He added the following warning: “We expect that these Islamists, and the various factions, will unite to fight with ISIS, and this will bring back the most hardened extremists and terrorist organizations into the country.”
Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces It is feared that another bloody civil war will break out if the new Syrian government in Damascus does not include various minorities, such as the Syrian Kurds.
Displaced Kurds leave the refugee camp north of Aleppo for Afrin on December 4, 2024. (Ugur Yildirim/DIA Images/Abaca/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)
He added: “Therefore, any new government in Syria must be representative, and it must be comprehensive, inclusive, and include all the different parties in Syria. If this is not the case, this will take us into a bloody civil war in the country, and this will put us in a huge phase of escalation.” . General Mazloum told Fox: “The road no one can predict will happen.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Facing Turkish fighter jets, the Syrian Democratic Forces mistakenly shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone in Syria on Monday, the result of “friendly fire,” a US defense official said. He told Fox News. “US-backed Kurdish fighters under attack by the Turkish army misidentified the drone as a threat,” the official said.
