Syrian Official Dismisses Kurdish Plans for Autonomy

A top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday rejected the prospect of a federal project in Syria that would grant Kurdish groups greater autonomy from the central government, Reuters reported.

“There cannot be discussion on the division or cutting up of a part of the country or on so-called federalism,” Bouthaina Shaaban told Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV, Reuters said.

Shaaban’s comments contradict a statement by Syria’s foreign minister in September, when he said the government was open to negotiations with the Kurds over their demand for autonomy within a unified Syria. But Shaaban said on Tuesday that the statement by Walid al-Moallem had been largely misinterpreted.

“I don’t think any government can discuss with any group when it comes to the topic of the country’s unity,” she said.

Shaaban also said that developments in Iraq “should be a lesson” to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, referring to the Iraqi government’s offensive against Kurdish-held regions in Iraq in retaliation for a Kurdish independence referendum.

Separately, President Assad said on Tuesday that the war in Syria does not end after the battle for Deir Ezzor, the so-called Islamic State’s last stronghold in Syria, Reuters said.

He also indicated that his government may focus on the SDF after battles against ISIS are complete, saying the war targeted those who seek to “divide and weaken states.”

Syria to Join Paris Climate Pact

Syria announced plans to join the Paris climate accord on Tuesday, leaving the U.S. as the only nation currently outside the agreement, Agence France-Presse reported.

“We are going to join the Paris Agreement,” the Syrian delegate said during a plenary session at U.N. climate talks in Bonn on Tuesday.

Nick Nuttall, the spokesman for the U.N. climate body, told AFP that Damascus must now submit its “instruments of ratification” at U.N. headquarters before its adherence to the pact becomes official.

Tuesday’s announcement makes Syria the 197th country to sign the landmark treaty, which aims to respond to climate change by holding a global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Coalition Claims Reduced Airstrikes in Syria

A U.S. air force general said on Tuesday that coalition airstrikes on Syria and Iraq dropped by 60–70 percent in October, AFP reported.

Brigadier General Andrew Croft, who coordinates the coalition air campaign, said 850 bombs were dropped in October compared to an average of 1,800–2,400 bombs dropped each month since the beginning of 2017.

“That’s indicative of the fact that ISIS is collapsing not only as a physical caliphate but also in ownership of land,” he said in a teleconference. “They only control about 4 or 5 percent of the original area they covered, so the number of targets has dropped dramatically, particularly in the last month.”

Recommended Reads

• Agence France-Presse: After I.S., Syrians in Deir Ezzor Rediscover Sunlight
• Al-Monitor: Iraq’s Intervention May Change the Equation in Syria’s Kurdish Regions
• The New Arab: Paradise Papers Reveal How Assad’s Cousin Used Front Companies to Bypass U.S. Sanctions
• Atlantic Council: Turkey’s Presence in Afrin Changes the Syria Equation (Again)
• Reuters: At U.N., Russia Slams Inquiry Into Toxic Gas Attacks in Syria