by Seth J. Frantzman
The crisis in Syria is affecting Kurds all over the world, primarily due to the fear that members of the Syrian government’s security forces may commit abuses amid the new offensive.
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Kurdish protesters took to the streets across the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq on Monday night amid increasing reports about clashes in Syria between the forces of the Syrian transitional government and those of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
They were mobilizing support for the Kurdish region of Syria, known as Rojava in Kurdish. This display of Kurdish unity reminded some of other crises in recent memory in which Kurds were threatened.
The Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq is an autonomous region with its own government and armed forces. It is one area where Kurdish identity is officially celebrated, where people speak Kurdish, and where there is no authoritarian government that suppresses Kurdish rights. In other places, such as Iran and Turkey, Kurds may be arrested for demonstrating.
The crisis in Syria is affecting Kurds all over the world, primarily due to the fear that members of the Syrian government’s security forces may commit abuses amid the new offensive.
The Syrian government was supposed to come to an agreement with the SDF to integrate the SDF into the new security forces. However, neither side could agree on how to proceed.
Despite a March 2025 agreement between Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Shara’a and SDF leader Mazlum Abdi that created a roadmap for integrating the SDF and the forces in Damascus, there was no success in the integration.
Since March, the Syrian government has been on a roll, gaining international support and consolidating its power. The SDF has not been able to move forward with any clear plan for what to do next. The SDF is a close partner of the US in the war on ISIS; however, in November, Damascus also joined the coalition against ISIS.
The Syrian government decided at the end of 2025 that the time was up for the SDF to integrate. It launched an offensive to clear two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo of SDF-linked security forces.
Later, the Syrian government set its sights on Dayr Hafir, an area near the Euphrates. The SDF, sensing its position was weakening, agreed to withdraw.
However, Damascus seized on the withdrawal as an opportunity to press its advantage and move forces across the Euphrates River, mobilizing tribes who have chafed under SDF rule.
On Monday, the SDF retreated even further, moving back towards Kurdish areas such as Kobane, Hasakah, and Qamishli. Now there is real fear that, as the Syrian government forces move forward, some of the elements of their forces may harm Kurds. Videos showing several dead Kurdish fighters, one with their throat appearing to be slit, have shocked people.
Murder of Kurdish activist Hevrin Khalaf by Turkish militia
In the past, some of the Arab Syrian rebel militias in Syria have been known to kidnap Kurdish women and murder people. For instance, during the 2019 offensive by Turkey into Serekaniye in eastern Syria, the young female Kurdish activist Hevrin Khalaf was murdered by a militia backed by Ankara.
Some Turkish media celebrated her murder, depicting the unarmed woman activist as an enemy deserving of an extrajudicial lynching. Kurds are understandably worried that there may be more incidents like this.
Rudaw Kurdish media in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Region reported on January 20 that “the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) on Tuesday warned of a ‘dangerous escalation’ across areas administered by the Kurdish-led autonomous administration, cautioning that extremist armed groups affiliated with Damascus now pose a direct and serious threat to the city of Kobane, which is effectively under siege.”
The report went on to note that “over the past 24 hours, Damascus-aligned forces have reportedly made significant territorial advances along the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, including in Tabqa, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor. The developments come despite a ceasefire brokered on Sunday under US mediation, as clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus-affiliated factions continue unabated.”
Meanwhile, a second report noted that “the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday called on young Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava) and Kurdish communities in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Europe to ‘unite’ and ‘join the resistance’ as Damascus-affiliated forces advance into the region despite a ceasefire.”
Seth J. Frantzman
Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-883918
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