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UN envoy calls for new Syrian constitution to avoid legal vacuum during political transition

Kurdish security chief says unity among Syria’s Kurds still possible

ARA News

The French government on Saturday welcomed the retaking of Tabqa city and its dam by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after navy fighting against ISIS extremists.

“Tabqa is a strategic location on the road leading to Raqqa. The retaking of this town is therefore a key step toward swiftly freeing Raqqa from Daesh [ISIS] control, which is a priority for France,” the French government said.

The French government’s official spokespersons refused to answer questions by reporters if they supply weapons and equipment to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, although French special forces support the SDF in the Raqqa operation.

“The priority of the international coalition against Daesh is to permanently defeat the terrorist organization in Syria and Iraq,” the government said in an official statement.

“The retaking of Mosul and Raqqa is an international security priority,” the French government said.

“The types of action to be taken in Syria by the international coalition against Daesh – in which France participates alongside the United States – will be determined on the basis of this priority,” it said.

Last week, outgoing French president François Hollande met with the co-head of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) Salih Muslim to discuss the fight against terrorism.

“The French President expressed his great interest in the struggle of the Kurds against terrorism in order to consolidate democracy, brotherhood of peoples and human values and stressed his friendship with the Kurdish people. And that he will do everything he can to achieve peace in Rojava and Syria,” the representative of Rojava in France Khaled Issa told ANHA.

The French government developed good relations with the PYD and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) since the beginning of the fight in Kobani in 2014.

Also PYD co-Chair Asya Abdullah, Kurdish female commander Nesrin Abdullah, and Khaled Issa met with the former French President François Hollande on 8 February in the Élysée Palace.

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News

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