Kurdish forces recruit 70 Arab commanders in Raqqa, Deir ez-ZorOctober 30, 2017 - 14:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - After encroaching upon non-Kurdish populated areas of both Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have begun recruiting more and more Arab fighters to win over the hearts and minds of local civilians whom often fear being disenfranchised by the Kurdish-led fighting force, Al-Masdar News reveals. On October 28, a total of 70 commanders graduated from the military academy in Ain Issa, an SDF stronghold in northern Raqqa. The SDF’s media department stressed that the majority of newly appointed commanders were of Arab origin, likely due to pressure from the US-led coalition to secularize the militia, Al-Masdar News says. Approximately 80% of SDF fighters are estimated to be Kurds, most of whom fight for the People’s Protection Units (YPG). Photo. AFP Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |