Pentagon says Damascus, Moscow exploit discontent in Kurdish-controlled Syria

Jared Szuba

May 14, 2020

A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands on the back of a pick-up truck, with a weapon installed on it, in Qamishli, Syria March 30, 2019. Picture taken March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC1961AA5550 — A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces stands on the back of a pick-up truck with a weapon installed on it in Qamishli, Syria, March 30, 2019. — REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

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The US military accused Russia and the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad of attempting to leverage discontent among Arab populations in eastern Syria to undermine Kurdish-led authorities affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

A Pentagon Inspector General report released on Wednesday cited CENTCOM as saying that unspecified “state actors in the region” were pressuring civilian populations “to realign and renounce support for the SDF.”