Arab fighters struggle to assert role in Raqqa assault

Smoke rises during clashes between SDF and Daesh militants in Raqqa on Tuesday. (Reuters)

RAQQA, Syria: The inexperienced fighters in an Arab group battling to take Raqqa back from Daesh are playing a secondary role to hardened Kurdish militia in the campaign for their home city.
The performance of one lightly trained group seen by Reuters in Raqqa underscored the difficulty of making Arabs the “vanguard” in the battle for the mostly Arab city, as the US said last year they would be.
In one recent incident, the fighters were quick to open fire after stray bullets flew above their makeshift compound.
“Cease-fire! Can you even see what you’re shooting at? Our comrades are somewhere up ahead!” their 27-year-old commander Hassan Khalil shouted to his fighters in the Foj Al-Raqqa (Raqqa Regiment).
Meanwhile, Reuters reporters covering the Raqqa assault have watched the Kurdish YPG militia take the most visible role.
It is a sensitive point both for Syrian Arabs and for neighboring Turkey, which is fighting a Kurdish insurgency in its southeast and has unsuccessfully lobbied Washington to abandon its alliance with the YPG.
Turkey opposes the YPG’s role in the operation, saying it threatens to change the demographics of Raqqa. But in March the new US administration started distributing arms to the YPG ahead of a final assault.
The ragtag, 300-strong Foj Al-Raqqa appears to have a more minor role. They are among the myriad militias swelling the ranks of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, formed in 2015 to fight Daesh.
“We’re proud to be SDF. We hope Arab forces will become as strong as the YPG,” Khalil said at Foj Al-Raqqa’s makeshift base near the front line last week. A live booby-trapped bomb rigged by Daesh militants still lay on their kitchen floor.
A YPG commander at a nearby house said the new recruits were inexperienced but useful. “They’re keen to fight, and they know the area so it’s good for intelligence,” Haval Qahraman said.
SDF spokesman Mostafa Bali said Foj Al-Raqqa was made up of men from the city. But in a sign of its subsidiary role, two other senior SDF officials in the alliance’s office in the town of Ain Issa said they had not heard of the group.
Arab fighters hope for a long-term role in Raqqa’s security. But Foj Al-Raqqa’s future is uncertain — governance and security arrangements in Raqqa have not been finalized as the fight to capture the city rages.
Another YPG commander said last week that the SDF had surrounded Daesh in central Raqqa, but predicted that the battle could last up to four more months.
In other areas taken by the alliance, such as the town of Manbij, security was handed over to mostly local forces who formed military councils that remained attached to the SDF.
Whether Foj Al-Raqqa will receive further training and play that role is unclear. For now, it focuses on the fighting. “Our goal and that of our comrades is the same — finishing off Daesh,” Khalil said.