March 19, 2015

The Kobani Model: Strengthening Kurdish-Arab Relations in Syria

By Nicholas Heras

The Islamic State (IS) suffered a setbackat the northern Syrian-Turkish border city of Kobani. This much-heralded event was important for a reason that has potential future ramifications for the civil war and the future stability of Syria: Arab-majority armed, moderate opposition groups and Kurdish militias under the People’s Protection Units (YPG) willingly entered into a joint operations room to coordinate the city’s defense. By standing and fighting against IS, the joint Kurdish-Arab effort in Kobani demonstrated that a multi-ethnic armed opposition coalition could function and succeed in the test of battle.

Read the full op-ed at Syria Comment.

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