Syrian Kurdish leaders fear Turkey will use the withdrawal as an opportunity to launch an assault. The main Syrian Kurdish faction, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), began to establish a foothold in the north early in the war as government forces withdrew to put down the anti-Assad uprising elsewhere. Early in the conflict, their control was concentrated in three predominantly Kurdish regions home to roughly 2 million Kurds. Wary of separatistism, Turkey views the PYD's Syrian foothold as a national security threat. Syria's Baathist state systematically persecuted the Kurds before the war.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 04, 2019 16:18 UTC