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Syrian Kurds insist federal rule despite Damascus warning

Xinhua, March 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kurdish parties in northern Syria voted in favor of establishing a federal region in northern Syria, a source close to the Kurds told Xinhua Thursday.

Ahmad al-Araj, a Kurdish-backed Syria Democratic Council (SDC) member, told Xinhua that committees are currently being elected in order to officially announce the federalization agreed upon by several Kurdish political and combatant groups in northern Syria.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (UK)-based watchdog group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, further confirmed the news, stating that establishing a federal region was agreed upon following a "big meeting" between Kurdish parties in the city of Rmailan along the Syrian-Turkish borders.

The federal Kurdish region would include areas in northern Syria on a triangular-basis, including the predominantly Kurdish strongholds of Kobani, Afreen and the al-Jazeera region.

The UK-based watchdog group said the majority of Arabs in that Kurdish region reject the Kurd's federal rule, deeming the move as a preliminary step for partitioning off Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry warned the Kurds Thursday against announcing federal rule in predominantly-Kurdish areas.

"The government of the Syrian Arab Republic warns any party from encroaching upon the unity of Syria under any banner, including those Kurds who are meeting in the city of Rmailan," the ministry said, saying such a move "runs counter to Syria's constitution and national norms."

The ministry said the Kurdish declaration of a federal region has "no legal basis nor any political, social and economic impact as long as it does not represent the will of all Syrians."

SDC member Al-Araj told Xinhua that announcing a federal region in northern Syria doesn't mean segregating the country, explaining "announcing a federal region preserves Syria's unity, given that Syria has already been fragmented whether we accept or reject that reality."

He added that given the diverse Syrian society, announcing a federalization will instead protect Syria's society. Endit