Alwaght- A few days after the liberation of the border town of Tel Abyad on Monday, Kurdish forces managed to dislodge ISIS terrorists from a military base in al-Raqqa Governorate. They seized the military base 'Liwa 93' from ISIS. Kurdish forces also liberated the strategic town of 'Ain Issa' in north of al-Raqqa (de facto capital of ISIS in Syria), and now Kurdish forces are just 56 km away from al-Raqqa. The outcomes of the recent victory of the Kurdish forces in Syria are as follow:
The rise of People's Democratic Party to power: The recent dramatic gains of Kurdish forces have increased the power of People's Democratic Party and also have promoted their domestic legitimacy and hegemony among the Syrian Kurds. In fact, while the conservative parties in the Kurdistan region of Syria do not have vast potentials, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), headed by Saleh Muslim, has stabilized its power as a mainstream in Syrian Kurdistan. Therefore, PYD is likely to receive wide support from Kurds in Iraq, Turkey and Syria.
Expansion of Kurdish territory and more pressure on ISIS: The town of Ain Issa is located the on international roads between Halab and al-Hasakah (East-West) governorates. However, as the 'Brigade 93' of Syrian army in the southern town of Ain Issa is now captured by Kurdish forces, they are less than 56 km away from ISIS headquarters, in al-Raqqa governorate (in al-Raqqa town). Currently, ISIS terrorists have been busy digging ditches in some spots round al-Raqqa getting ready to fight back the Kurds near the town of al-Raqqa. However, if Kurds put pressure on ISIS forces in the region, this would undermine the power of ISIS in other regions of Syria that would be to Iraq and Syria's advantage. Besides, the importance of the recent achievements lies in cutting off the lifeline of ISIS in al-Raqqa and disconnecting their communication channel through which it was receiving support and aid from Turkey. This is to the advantage of all groups and governments that fight against ISIS.
It is noteworthy that Tel Abyad is of strategic importance as it links together the two separate Kurdish areas of Syria and motivates the Kurdish forces for more consistency and resistance against ISIS. If they succeed to seize control over al-Raqqa, it would be regarded a great achievement for the People's Democratic Party, and would largely facilitate development of Kurdish autonomous cantons in Syrian territory.
Establishment of an Autonomous Kurdish government in Syrian Kurdistan: Although the Kurds in northern Syria declared their existence in December 2013, now they are able to connect the two cantons of al-Hasakah to Kubani, and extend their geographical area and get ready to take the next step to wrest control over town of Ifrit at the highest point in the northwest of Syria. In fact, the political conditions are to the advantage of the Kurds in Syria. They have highly trained soldiers, commanders and forces in the mountains of Qandil, meanwhile they have also assumed control over oil wells and gas installations in al-Sweida, etc. In the current conditions, the international coalition against ISIS also collaborates with the Kurds, and their international relations with Washington and the West are improving. In such circumstances, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) can actually work for establishing a government in the northern area of Syria.
Creating new opportunities and threats: A more powerful Kurdistan Democratic Party in Syria, considering its good relations with the Syrian government, would create more opportunities for the Syrian government and resistance groups which have focused on fighting against ISIS and al-Nusrah Front. The victory of the Kurdish forces provides an opportunity for the Syrian government and its regional supporters to undermine terrorism. Nevertheless, this is not good news for Turkey and regional supporters of ISIS; regarding the fact that Turkey has frequently chosen to favor ISIS rather than Kurds. In practice, Turkey is much willing to neighbor the ISIS terrorist group rather than the Kurds.
