Syria's Kurdish-controlled regions approve federal system
RMEILAN - Syria's Kurdish-controlled northern regions voted to seek autonomy under a federal system on Thursday, angering both the Damascus government and neighbouring power Turkey with a move that could complicate new UN-backed peace talks.
The vote to unite three Kurdish-controlled provinces appears aimed at creating a self-run entity within Syria, a status that Kurds have enjoyed in neighbouring Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The proclamation is nevertheless an open challenge to many of the sides in Syria's 5-year-old civil war, as well as their international sponsors, who have mainly been battling for control of what they say must remain a unified state.
