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Will new tribal council ease Turkey's load in Syria?

Twenty-nine tribes and clans in the areas liberated during Operation Euphrates Shield announced the formation of a tribal council with the support of Turkey.
Turkish armoured military vehicles patrol on the Turkish-Syrian border line in Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, October 8, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC19C08D1DE0

ALEPPO, Syria — A number of Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen tribes and clans in the areas liberated during the Turkey-led Operation Euphrates Shield formed the Council of Free Syrian Revolutionary Tribes on Sept. 25. A statement issued by the Turkey-backed council affirmed Syria's territorial integrity and ethnic unity and denounced efforts that would divide the country and establish sectarian and ethnic cantons — a pointed reference to Kurdish self-rule in northern Syria, which is being administered by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party and its military wing, the People's Protection Units.

The council was formed after various tribal and clan meetings over the past few months in Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen regions to discuss a unified council or councils of their own, said Khaled al-Jumaa al-Ujaili, a council member and representative of the Ajil tribe who spoke to Al-Monitor. A large number of members from the Bobatosh, an Arab clan, reside in the liberated areas, and on June 5 the clan announced the formation of its own revolutionary council to support the revolution and prevent division among the tribe in the village of Kafra, east of Azaz, in Aleppo’s northern countryside. It did not, however, join the new council. On July 4, the Ajil clan held a luncheon attended by the mayor of the Turkish city of Kilis and a number of dignitaries and military leaders affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) actions.

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