Fadwa al-Uceyli has been appointed by the U.S. to try to convince Syrian opposition groups to work with the PKK
Fadwa al-Uceyli, an American passport holder and resident of the country for over 40 years, was dispatched to the field on behalf of the U.S. in order to form a joint council between the Syrian opposition and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in areas that the PKK occupies. Al-Uceyli is also backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She meets with armed Syrian opposition groups as well as civil society organizations and pledges financial aid. Al-Uceyli has been promised vast remuneration and a high rank if she can ensure that an agreement is reached between the PKK-U.S. alliance and other groups.
Al-Uceyli had no role in any period of the Syrian resistance and emerged when the U.S. decided to cooperate with the PKK for the Raqqa operation. Al-Uceyli, who played a role in the Syrian opposition Provisional Government and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, first obtained a copy of all the deeds of Raqqa while it was still under Daesh’s control and handed this information over to the CIA.
By using the deeds that the U.S. was in possession of, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad increased bombing of areas known for their anti-U.S.-PKK sentiments and killed families with potential to become part of the opposition. Those who managed to stay alive were exiled by the PKK.
The U.S. organized a meeting in Italy’s Rome on Oct. 26 in an effort to legitimize the PKK. Al-Uceyli met with representatives from all opposition groups before the meeting and said that the U.S. and PKK were willing to make concessions on Raqqa’s city center. Expressing that they were ready to reach consensus on the establishment of a joint council for Raqqa, al-Uceyli tried to persuade the opposition. Al-Uceyli, who has failed in the face of the persistent stance of the Syrian opposition who view the PKK-U.S. alliance as an occupying force, joined the PKK alone in the Rome meeting which the opposition boycotted.
Al-Uceyli’s family supported Assad during the Syrian uprising that started in 2011, and many of her family members held high level positions in the Damascus administration. Randel Uceyli, Abdullah Uceyli and Isam Uceyli are some of her relatives who hold high level positions.
Originally from Raqqa, Al-Uceyli has been living in the U.S. for 40 years and holds an American passport. Yeni Şafak’s sources say that Al-Uceyli is in close contact with the UAE emir, Ahmad Jarba and Mohammed Dahlan.
Al-Uceyli, who was a member of Tayyar al Ghad founded by Ahmad Jarba, joined the Riyadh Conference with a special reference from Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed. Al-Uceyli, who has been assigned a house in Dubai, also has frequent contacts with Ahmed Carba and Mohammed Dahlan regarding the activities to be conducted with the PKK.
Al-Uceyli was selected as part of a high-level negotiating team at the Riyadh meeting, and is continuing to establish new councils in cooperation with the PKK. Within this scope, Al-Uceyli is preparing for a two-day workshop and is continuing to hold many meetings focusing on Turkey’s border provinces such as Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
