British SDF member says support increased after visit of US-coalition envoy to northern Syria

Macer Gifford, a British volunteer with the SDF-linked Syriac Military Council in the fight against ISIS in Syria’s Raqqa, told ARA News that the Coalition has increased its support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the visit of the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Tabqa and the SDF forces in northern Syria.

Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition Brett McGurk visited Syria on June 28-29 meeting with SDF forces and the Raqqa Civilian Council.

“Massively impressed with the work of Brett Mcgurk and coalition. In Raqqa there is more coordinated support for SDF and more humanitarian aid,” Gifford wrote on Twitter.
“Brett McGurks visit is a clear indication that the US Government has accepted that the SDF and the Federation of Northern Syria is the defacto government of the region,” Gifford said.

“The US finally seems to have a workable plan and is sticking to it with public shows of solidarity. I have spent the last three years fighting for the YPG and SDF, I have never seen so much military and humanitarian support. Its fantastic but needs to be maintained if Syria is going to stabilize and have lasting peace,” he concluded.

Brett McGurk credited “the bravery and sacrifice of the Syrian Democratic Forces in their ongoing operations against ISIS” and “held intensive discussions with local leaders and councils on post-liberation governance issues.”

“He also witnessed first-hand the humanitarian and stabilization assistance that is underway in the liberated areas north of Raqqa, and […] met with the Raqqa Civilian Council to discuss stabilization efforts in post-ISIS Raqqa,” according to the coalition’s statement.

McGurk met with several SDF officers and Layla Mohammed, the co-head of the Raqqa Civilian Council. In those meetings, he stressed that “once Raqqa is liberated, it is critical that local officials from the area take over responsibility for post-liberation security and governance.”

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News