US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has issued repeating warnings to the Syrian government to stop its offensive on Kurdish-held areas, threatening the return of sanctions under the Caesar Act.
His remarks came as Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara spoke to Mr Trump and discussed the need to protect Kurdish rights, Syrian state media said, as a day-old ceasefire was being put to the test by continuous fighting in the north-east.
During the call, “both sides underlined the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state,” Syrian state media said. There was no US statement about the call.
The two leaders also “stressed the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial unity and independence, and supporting all efforts aimed at achieving stability,” while also agreeing to fight ISIS.
“If Syrian government forces continue to advance in the north towards Raqqa, I will push for reimposing Caesar Act sanctions on steroids,” Mr Graham, a prominent conservative voice on US foreign policy, said on X. “If this continues, not only will there be bone-crushing sanctions, it will permanently damage relationships between the US and the new Syrian government.”
In a separate post, Mr Graham said Syria could not be united by military force, stating the offensive is “fraught with peril” and warning of the risk of the resurgence of ISIS.
Dozens of people were reported killed in clashes between the army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Monday. ISIS supporters were feared to have escaped custody during fighting near a prison.
Syria's interior ministry said that about 120 ISIS prisoners escaped from Al Shaddadi prison, while Kurdish TV channel Rudaw cited SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami as saying that 1,500 had escaped.
The SDF accused pro-government fighters of attacking a prison holding thousands of ISIS detainees. The Syrian army, in turn accused the Kurdish forces of releasing prisoners from the facilities that had been under their control.
Renewed clashes on Monday evening further threatened the fragile truce that was announced a day before. Despite the ceasefire, Syria army’s advance into the Hasakah region was met with resistance from the SDF.
Footage posted by SDF accounts online claimed to purportedly show members of its forces killed and beheaded near the prisons. The National could not verify the authenticity of the videos.
After weeks of unrest, the government announced a wide-ranging agreement with the SDF on Sunday to bring Kurdish civilian and military authorities under state control. The SDF agreed to cede control of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces to the Syrian government on Sunday after the army's lightning offensive into the two oil-rich provinces.
After Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, convoys of Syrian forces were sent on Monday to Hasakah. Under the agreement, Hasakah civilian institutions are to be integrated into Syria’s central government. Syrian forces have yet to take control of the province or go deeper into the city.
