“France must be the first political support for the Kurds of Syria”

Reserved for subscribers

INTERVIEW. Mazloum Abdi, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), fears a Turkish invasion and calls for more outspoken support from Washington and Paris.

Interview by Guillaume Perrierin Hasakah

Ferhat Abdi Sahin, better known by his nom de guerre Mazloum Abdi, has been the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since 2015, a Kurdish-dominated coalition of fighters that is the main ally on the ground of the international coalition in the fight against the Islamic State (Daesh). Reappointed to his post in 2022, he is often seen as “the Americans’ man” in Syria. Aged 55, “General Mazloum” joined the ranks of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 1990, the Kurdish rebellion fighting against Ankara. Imprisoned five times by the Syrian regime of Hafez el-Assad (the father of the current dictator), he left to fight the Turkish army in the Kurdish mountains, then he joined Europe, where he held high responsibilities in the.. .

I subscribe