As long as ISIS remains active on Syrian territory, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a mostly Kurdish paramilitary group supported by the US, will not surrender their weapons, a senior Kurdish politician has said.

The statement sets the stage for the continued division of the country as its new President, Ahmed Al Shara, promises to fix all of Syria to central control.

“It’s a necessity to keep weapons because there is a fight against ISIS,”

Ilham Ahmed expressed.

“We’ll also have to be reinforced because it’s obvious that recently ISIS has resurfaced even stronger than before in a few areas of Syria.”

Kurds in Syria, who make up about 10 percent of the population and tolerated discrimination under the rule of Bashar Al Assad, feel banned from the political transition headed by Damascus’s new authorities, stated Ms Ahmed, co-chair of foreign affairs for the SDF’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC).

While Al Shara has called for all paramilitary groups to disarm, he has, however, pledged to be as inclusive as feasible and held a session on December 30 near Damascus with SDF members, including its commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi. 

These tough discussions may shape Syria’s future amid fierce speculation regarding how paramilitary forces will be incorporated. As a result of the continued marginalisation of Syria’s minorities, Ms. Ahmed warns that civil strife could erupt. “Should the local identities of various groups continue to be denied, this will pave the way towards an internal conflict,”

Ms Ahmed said.

“The preceding regime negated Kurdish identity, and until now, it has not been recognised.”

In France, US officials conveyed to Ms Ahmed’s panel that they “would continue to co-operate with the SDF in the fight against ISIS as they have done until now.” The US government was not represented at the ministerial level in Paris – it has yet to explain its position on Syria – and instead sent the deputy assistant secretary of state, Tim Lenderking.

There have been worries that the government of US President Donald Trump could draw support from the SDF. The US has approximately 2,000 troops in Syria as a component of an anti-ISIS alliance, and Mr Trump has threatened in the past to remove them. Mr Trump has also expressed sympathy with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who considers the People’s Defense Units (YPG), the major element of the SDF, as an attachment of the Kurdistan’s Workers Party, the PKK, which is deemed a terrorist body by Turkey and some Western nations.

The expertise developed in its war against ISIS has been a primary means for the SDF to claim that they should be entitled to resume patrolling northeast Syria.