EXPERT BRIEF - DECODING THE INTRA-KURDISH DIALOGUE IN SYRIA - MEHMET EMIN CENGIZ

In the third round of the unity negotiations, it is anticipated that the nature of the KNC’s participation in the AANES will be discussed. [...] Aware of this situation, the SDF has tried to transform The Syrian Kurds believe that the possibility of the SDF-held areas facing an unexpected or unpleasant operation to have tremendously diminished with the Biden administration 6 the ISIS-affiliated prisoners in the SDF-held camps and prisons into a bargaining chip on the way to political recognition. [...] The KNC shows its discontent with the SDF’s compulsory military service implemented since 2014 under the name of “Self-Defense.” The KNC objects to the idea of forced conscription on the grounds that thousands of young people fled The two sides have diverging visions on the forced conscription and curriculum imposed by the AANES 10 Syria to avoid military service. [...] On the other hand, the PYD accuses the KNC of objecting to providing education in the Kurdish language, a claim the KNC outright rejects. [...] A wing within the PYD and the PKK leaders in the Qandil mountains resist this break, even though the KNC consistently asks the PYD to break its ties with the PKK 12 -Moreover, given Kurdish politics’ regional dynamics, it can be stated that the problems between the PKK and KDP undermine the intra-Kurdish unity talks.