Kurdish Federalization May Fuel Conflicts in Region - Egyptian Official

The establishment of a self-proclaimed federal region in northern Syria by the Kurdish population threatens to fuel conflicts in the region, head of the Egyptian parliament’s Committee for International Cooperation Mohamed Orabi said Thursday.

CAIRO (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, members of a Kurdish conference in the Syrian town of Rmeilan announced the creation of the Democratic System of Rojava and Northern Syria that would remain a part of Syria as a federal unit. The Syrian government said the Kurds’ unilateral decision had no legal power.

"Syria will not be the same, we should not support the formation of new entities. It only stirs up conflicts in the region," Orabi, who is Egypt's former foreign minister, told RIA Novosti.

According to Orabi, the newly established formation could spread to northern Iraq in the future.

"Perhaps it is an attempt to bring the world a fait accompli for the Kurds to be allowed to participate directly in the negotiations on the future of Syria," Orabi added.

Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. A new round of the intra-Syrian talks aimed at putting an end to the five-year civil war is underway in Geneva. Representatives of the Syrian Kurds have not been invited to the talks.

Rojava began gaining autonomy in 2013, when the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its armed wing, YPG, asserted control over the region.