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DAMASCUS: A US envoy said on Wednesday that Syria’s central government and the Kurds remain at odds over plans on merging forces after the latest round of talks.
US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack, who is also a special envoy to Syria, told The Associated Press after meetings in Damascus that differences between the two sides remain. Barrack spoke after meeting with Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, and Syria’s interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in the Syrian capital.
In early March, the new authorities in Damascus signed a landmark deal with the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Under that deal, the SDF forces would be merged with the new national army. The agreement, which is supposed to be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, airports, and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control.
Detention centers housing thousands of suspected members of the Daesh group would also come under government control.
However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army — which the Kurds have pushed for — or whether it would be dissolved and its members absorbed into the new military as individuals.
Barrack said that question remains “a big issue” between the two sides.

LONDON: The rap-punk duo Bob Vylan announced a last-minute gig in London on Wednesday, and the Irish rap group Kneecap sold out their show at the O2 in Glasgow in just 80 seconds, despite being axed by festivals after using performances to publicly criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Avon and Somerset Police are investigating Bob Vylan over their Glastonbury performance in June, when frontman Bobby Vylan, 34, led crowds in chants of “death, death to the IDF”, an acronym for Israel Defence Forces, during a livestreamed show.

The Metropolitan Police are also investigating the duo from Ipswich over alleged comments made during a concert in London in May, during which Vylan, reportedly, said: “Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel. Death to the IDF.”

The duo announced to their followers on Instagram that they will be performing a gig on Wednesday evening at the 100 Club, a venue on Oxford Street in central London.

After their Glastonbury performance, the band had their US visas revoked and were removed from their headline slot at Radar festival in Manchester, as well as an upcoming German venue. Their agency, United Talent Agency, has reportedly dropped them as well.

Bob Vylan, formed in 2017, is known for addressing issues such as racism, masculinity, and class; they have said they are “targeted for speaking up.” They are scheduled to perform at the Boardmasters surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August.

‘They can’t stop us’

The Irish rap trio Kneecap responded to Scotland’s first minister during their Tuesday night performance at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, which reportedly sold out in 80 seconds. However, the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow canceled the trio’s performance this weekend after concerns were raised by the police.

John Swinney called for the TRNSMT festival to disinvite the band, describing their participation as “unacceptable” due to comments he deemed “beyond the pale”.

Mo Chara, a member of Kneecap, was charged with a terrorism-related offense in June but has been released on unconditional bail after footage showed him holding a Hezbollah flag.

Chara addressed Swinney’s comments during the gig at the O2 Academy on Tuesday, asking the crowd: “What’s your first minister’s name?” and adding: “They stopped us playing TRNSMT but they can’t stop us playing Glasgow.” The trio chanted against Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had called for their removal from festivals in England.

Kneecap wrote later on social media: “Hats off to the dozens of Palestine activists who’ve been here all day. Buzzing to play one of our favourite cities for a show that sold out in seconds.”

The band said that their criticism target the Israeli government and that their actions, including displaying the Hezbollah flag during a performance, were taken out of context.

In April, they concluded a performance at Coachella’s California desert music festival by projecting three screens of pro-Palestinian messages.

The first text said: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” followed by: “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes,” while the final message said: “F*** Israel. Free Palestine.”

Since October 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while more than 100,000 others have been injured. On Oct. 7, 2023, the Hamas group raided Israeli towns, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.