Two months after it appeared that clashes between the Syrian government and Kurdish forces would spiral out of control, Damascus has appointed a key Kurdish commander as a deputy to the Syrian defense minister.
Asim Ghalioun, head of the Defense Ministry’s Media and Communication Directorate, said Sipan Hemo would be appointed to the position, Rudaw Media Network, a news channel in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, reported. The report cited the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Syria’s official news agency. As a deputy, he is expected to focus on an area in eastern Syria, the report said.
Hemo was previously a key member of the Syrian Democratic Forces general command. He was an outspoken figure within the SDF.
The SDF was created in 2015 with US support. Many key SDF commanders were part of the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a Kurdish group in Syria.
“The eastern region, commonly referred to as Jazira, covers areas east of the Euphrates River, including parts of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and predominantly Kurdish Hasaka provinces,” Rudaw Media Network reported Tuesday.
“Sipan Hemo, who was a member of the SDF negotiation delegation in the January talks, is a prominent commander of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF,” the report said, adding that his “appointment as deputy defense minister marks a significant step in implementing the January 29 integration deal, following SDF-backed appointments of Nour al-Din Issa as governor of Hasaka and Marwan al-Ali as the governorate’s internal security chief.”
North Press Agency, a Syrian news agency that is considered close to the SDF in eastern Syria, reported the same information.
“Sipan Hamo, a leader in the Syrian Democratic Forces, has been appointed as an assistant to the Minister of Defense for the eastern region of Syria,” the report said, adding that he “is the general commander of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a member of the general command of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and hails from the city of Afrin in the Aleppo countryside.”
Full details behind Hemo's appointment yet unknown
More details about Hemo’s appointment remain to be seen.
After the clashes in January, the Syrian government and the SDF came to an agreement on January 28. The Syrian Interior Ministry took over many areas previously run by the SDF.
The SDF is now supposed to integrate with the Syrian government forces. Damascus has sought to assure the Kurds that it will appoint them to positions in eastern Syria.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed Noureddin Ahmed Issa as governor of Al-Hasakah. That was another example of someone who was appointed to allay Kurdish concerns.
In addition, Kurdish civilians were returning to Afrin in Syria on March 9-10. About 400 Kurdish families have returned, according to reports. Video clips showed many Kurds turning out in Afrin to welcome them home.
Afrin is a Kurdish area in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border. About 160,000 Kurds fled from a Turkish invasion in 2018.
Now that the Assad regime is gone, and there is a new government, the Turkish army has left Afrin, enabling the Kurds to return.