Roundabout in Western side of Manbij, in control of SDF
Jihan Ahmad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told Sputnik on December 21 that the SDF does not oppose the return of the Damascus government’s institutions to the northern city of Manbij and stressed that self-administration is the only demand of the Kurdish-dominated group.
“We are a part of Syria and we don’t call for separatism, but we want agreement on self-administration as part of free Syria to be reached,” Ahmad said, when asked by the Russian news agency if Manbij could be handed over to Damascus.
The SDF spokeswoman added that the group’s leaders have held talks with representatives of Damascus on several occasions. She added that the SDF has no problem with the “regime” or the Syrian flag.
“Today our efforts are aimed at protecting the region and warding danger away from it,” Ahmad said.
A day earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) revealed that the SDF and the Damascus government are holding talks on the future of northeastern Syria amid the U.S. decision to withdraw its forces from the war torn country.
Local observers had predicted that the SDF will move towards Damascus and Moscow in order to prevent Turkey from attacking northeastern Syria in the aftermath of U.S. forces withdrawal.
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