The newly appointed Governor of the Al-Hasakah governate General Ghalim Khalil, one of Assad’s top security figures, told a delegation of Kurdish figures yesterday in NE Syria on his reception in the governor’s office in Hasakah city;” the Kurds are not migrants to Syria, they’re
not guests, they are the original owners of this territory.”
This statement can be perceived as an offer of good will to the Kurds. Working together with the Kurds is the easiest and most low risk set of concessions both sides can make. At the same time we need to recognize that not ALL Syrian territory in NE Syria is Kurdish and that there are other traditional owners to the lands there who were also expelled. NE Syria is a
mixed region, considering the fact some of the Arab and Assyrian people were expelled and attacked by Kurdish tribes, labelling Kurds as the “original owners” is a problem and completely washes away other ethnic groups’ history in that region.
The appointment of one of Assad’s top men to the Kurdish-occupied area and this remarkable statement at his first meeting with the Kurdish administration can be interpreted as an attempt to reunite the area with all of Syria through diplomacy and concessions, instead of war. Rumors also state that SDF general Mazloum Kobani flew to Baghdad last week, where he held a series of meetings. Though I could not find any proof backing this news.
New governor of Hasakah: Kurds held NE Syria originally
