Syrian Kurdish fighters have vowed to resist government forces “until the last breath,” even as Damascus moves to reclaim control over the Kurdish autonomous region in the country’s northeast.
Commander Azad, a veteran Kurdish fighter whose nom-de-guerre means “freedom,” bears the physical scars of years of conflict. He lost a leg in a Turkish airstrike in 2018 and carries injuries from multiple attacks by the Islamic State group (IS), including shrapnel wounds to his arm, back, and abdomen.
Syrian army announces 15-day extension of ceasefire with Kurdish-led forces
Beyond the battlefield, Azad says his deepest wound is political. He feels betrayed by the United States, which previously collaborated closely with Kurdish forces to defeat IS after it seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. “History will hold them accountable,” he says. “Morally it’s not right. But we will keep fighting until our last breath. We are not cry-babies.”
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now face a new struggle against government troops, who in recent weeks have recaptured resource-rich territories held by the Kurds for over a decade following the defeat of IS.
#With inputs from BBC