Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) has accused Asayish, a security force of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and their political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) , of plotting assasinations of Arab commanders in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The YPG and the PYD are the main political and military force within the SDF. There is an opposition to the Kurdish dominance in the group among the SDF’s Arab commanders. The main reason of this opposition is the hostile behaviour of the YPG, the PYD and Asayish towards the local Arab population and the opposition towards the project of “Kurdish independent state” in the SDF-held area.
The recent Hayat Tahrir al-Sham accusations are likely designed to fuel these tensions further. They also contribute to a similar media campaign, which is being carried by the Turkish media.
