TURKIYE'S IMPERIALIST WAR ON KURDISTAN
Syria: Rojava is under fire
First published at Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.
Early on Sunday morning, I received numerous messages with pictures and videos from the northern Syrian city of Qamishli. They showed dancing and singing people who had just toppled the larger-than-life statue of Hafiz al-Assad.
The Syrian dictatorship ended on 8 December, after over 50 years of brutal oppression by the Assad family. Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, which granted him asylum on “humanitarian grounds”. He is responsible for numerous crimes, such as the use of barrel bombs and chemical weapons, ethnic cleansing, systematic torture, and state murder.
Many in Syria celebrated after the dictator’s fall, including in the Kurdish north-east of the country. But the war there continues, as Islamists with Turkish support attack the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing and a humanitarian catastrophe looms.
The people of the Autonomous Administration have been organizing themselves — independently of the Syrian state — for over ten years. The Kurdish-dominated regions of the country declared their independence from the regime in 2012 during the civil war, proclaiming the first three cantons of Cizire, Kobane, and Afrin in 2014. Rojava became a global symbol for the fight against the “Islamic State” (IS) and the establishment of grassroots democratic structures. Until the fall of Assad, this self-governance expanded and eventually encompassed around one third of the country. It was home to an estimated 4 million people, including Arabs, Kurds, Yazidis, and Christians. The entire region is administered by councils and committees in which the population can participate directly in local politics.
Turkish interests
Rojava is now facing an existential threat from attacks by the Islamist Syrian National Army (SNA), supported by Turkey. Ankara is using the state’s collapse to achieve goals it has been pursuing for years in northern Syria. The Turkish government views Rojava as little more than an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is banned in the country. In recent years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has therefore repeatedly announced his intention to establish a 30-kilometre-wide security buffer along the southern border in Syria, which would mean the end of self-governance. Current developments indicate that he now wants to realize this plan.
Following Turkey’s repeated invasions of northern Syria in violation of international law — such as Afrin in 2018 and Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye in 2019, of which it has occupied large parts ever since — SNA militias recently captured the city of Tall Rifaat north of Aleppo, and have been advancing on the city of Manbij west of the Euphrates since the beginning of the week. Both Arab-dominated areas had been under self-administration since liberation from IS. After several days of bloody fighting, the SNA captured Manbij on the morning of 10 December 2024.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the region’s multi-ethnic military alliance, had previously managed to fend off several attempted attacks, according to its own statements. SDF General Commander Mazlum Abdi finally declared that he had agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday morning. “The fighters of the Manbij Military Council will withdraw from the area as soon as possible”, said Abdi. The agreement was concluded in order to guarantee the safety of the civilian population: “Our goal is a ceasefire throughout Syria and the initiation of a political process for the future of the country.”
Nevertheless, the fighting continues further east and is currently centred on the Qara-Qozak bridge over the Euphrates. At the same time, Turkey is attacking the northern Syrian city of Kobane with air strikes. It is only 30 kilometres from the bridge to Kobane.
The city of Kobane became a symbol of the fight against IS in 2015 after Kurdish defence units — with the support of the US-led international anti-IS coalition — were able to push back the radical Islamists for the first time. Now the city is under threat of a renewed Islamist siege. “Syria must be prevented from relapsing into the bloodiest days of the civil war. Only if Turkey stops its escalation can we utilize the historic opportunity for a peaceful solution to the conflict”, explained Khaled Davrisch, representative of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in Germany. “Just as the whole world feared for Kobane in 2015, the future of Syria could now once again be decided in Kobane”, Davrisch continued.
Flight and expulsion
So far, however, there are few signs of a political solution, although the self-administration and the SDF have repeatedly called for one since the fall of Assad. The humanitarian consequences of the SNA’s attacks, on the other hand, are devastating. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports serious human rights violations by the invading troops following the battles for Manbij. SNA militiamen are said to have executed wounded SDF fighters in a hospital. Looting against the Kurdish population in the multi-ethnic city is also said to have taken place.
In addition, many people had to flee from the areas occupied by the Islamists. According to the aid organizations medico international and the Kurdish Red Crescent, over 120,000 people have been displaced from the region around Aleppo and Tall Rifaat. Those who fled from the Kurdish canton of Afrin had been living in informal settlements and refugee camps since 2018. Now they must flee again, amidst reports of torture and killings.
In the meantime, the people have arrived in the self-administered area east of the Euphrates and the first reception centres have been set up in the cities of Tabqa and Raqqa. However, the conditions are disastrous and everything is lacking: medicine, food, tents. Several children have already died of hypothermia. Hygienic conditions are poor and diseases are spreading.
What can the international community do?
The repeated expulsions illustrate how ethnic and religious minorities are becoming the target of geopolitical interests in the Syrian conflict. The international community has so far largely ignored the escalation of violence in northern Syria. Turkey’s NATO membership and the EU’s “refugee deal” with Ankara in particular make it difficult to clearly condemn the Turkish attacks. Moreover, Western countries’ focus on the war in Ukraine means that the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria receives little attention.
Now is the time to send clear signals — supplying the displaced people in Rojava and other parts of Syria must be a priority. This includes the provision of food, tents, and medicines, as well as the creation of safe escape corridors.
The Autonomous Administration has proven that it can be a stabilizing factor in the region. Recognizing it as a political actor would not only strengthen its position, but also increase the pressure on Turkey to end the offensive. The Autonomous Administration’s call for a UN-brokered ceasefire should therefore also be supported, as only through comprehensive dialogue can the course be set for a sustainable, peaceful order in Syria. This would also mean the international community holding Turkey accountable for its repeated violations of international law and the war crimes committed by SNA militias with Ankara’s knowledge and approval.
Assad’s end means that Rojava’s future is at stake. The achievements of self-administration risk being destroyed in the midst of geopolitical power games and regional interests. Absent decisive action by the international community, the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria will continue to escalate. The struggle for Rojava is not only a struggle for territorial control of individual areas, but also for the future of freedom, equality, and self-determination in Syria and the Middle East as a whole.
Translated by Loren Balhorn. Christopher Wimmer is a sociologist and author from Berlin.
Salih Muslim (Democratic Unity Party) on dialogue with HTS and Turkey, and Rojava’s example for a democratic and inclusive Syria
Here is our conversation with Salih Muslim, veteran voice in the pursuit of peace and democracy for a new democratic future Syria, lightly edited for clarity.
The transitional government led by HTS marks a significant shift in Syria’s political landscape. How does the AANES view dialogue or coexistence with such groups, particularly given HTS’s history? Is there room for negotiation to achieve a peaceful and inclusive future for Syria?
Yes. First of all I congratulate all the Syrian people for this victory. They have been able to get rid of the despotic regime that has controlled Syria for [nearly] 60 years. And in particular, this HTS that has taken power in Damascus. They are now governing, they are talking about coexistence with all the components of Syria.
The Kurds, the Syriacs and the other communities — and also from a religious point of view with the Yazidis, Christians, Alawites and Shiites — everybody can live together in a democratic Syria. So this is a big step towards the democratic Syria that we are fighting for. As for the dialogue, I think it’s too early to talk about it now, because we still [need] two or three days. But we are looking for ways to contact them. Maybe we can go to Damascus and they can come to us. We’re trying and we’re looking for the ways.
And now maybe we have some contacts through mediators like the International Coalition [to Defeat ISIS], but I think we have to do it face-to-face, or get together, to discuss the problems of the Syrians. For their past, of course, everybody knows that HTS has a history. There was al-Nusra Front, and there were jihadists and so on in the beginning. But now they are trying to change. So we will try to be helpful and we will try to help them to succeed in this change, to be able to deal with all Syrians, I mean, the different components.
But the problem is not them, the problem is the other group that they are coordinating with, the SNA. This group is completely different. This group [SNA] are mercenaries used by Turkey, and Turkey has used them in many places. They have used them in Libya, in Somalia, in Kenya, in Azerbaijan and now they are using them here. Turkey are pushing the SNA against us and still there are some clashes in our areas, I mean between the administration, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and these groups in Manbij (Minbîc) and elsewhere. And their attacks haven’t stopped yet. Even the Turkish government [itself], they are still attacking through the border using drones, shelling and so on, still continuing.
But we are trying to achieve a good deal with HTS in Damascus.
The recent US-brokered ceasefire and reports of a dialogue process involving the AANES are pivotal. Can you elaborate on the conditions and objectives of this dialogue? How does the AANES plan to ensure the protection and representation of Kurdish-led regions in the new political framework?
We are trying to have all the components of the democratic self-administration in our areas, in the northeast of Syria, especially with the Kurdish parties, to have a joint delegation for this dialogue with the new authorities in Damascus. We are looking forward to that.
And from the other side, we have our forces, the self-defence forces. If there is an attack in our areas, we will try to protect our areas. We defend ourselves. So that is what we are doing. But it’s too early now to talk about ongoing negotiations. We hope that in the near future we will be able to make contact and make some agreements with them.
Turkey’s actions, including their backing of the SNA and their reported crimes in areas like Tel Rifaat and Manbij, remain a major challenge. In light of these developments, do you believe a sustainable peace with Turkey is achievable? What are the main prerequisites for such a dialogue?
Turkey is looking for a new Ottoman Empire. I mean, they are trying to… they have been involved in the Syrian crisis from the beginning until now. So they have expectations. I mean, they are trying to do it. And what is wrong is, they see the Kurds as their enemies. I mean, they don’t accept Kurdish existence anywhere, not only in Turkey. So that is the reason why they are attacking us.
And they may now be sending these groups, the SNA, into our areas to attack. So, if they give this up, if they hold back their hand from Syria, I think it will be okay. It will be okay. We can make peace and a sustainable, peaceful Syria. But because Turkey is involved, it is difficult to do that.
They should give up these expansionist tendencies towards a new Ottoman Empire. And they should look for peace, I think. But these conditions after, these fights in Manbij and the other [places], it seems Turkey does not accept them yet. I mean, they haven’t changed their mind and their policy towards Syria, which makes things very difficult now.
The collapse of the Assad regime opens the door for a re-imagined Syria. What role does the AANES envision for itself in building a democratic and inclusive Syria? How can minority rights and governance structures be integrated into this vision?
Well, we are looking for the unity of Syria and we would like to build a decentralised Syria, maybe the democratic way. Some of them, they call it federalism. Some of them, the original autonomous areas. But anyway, what we are doing now in our areas, we have all these components. The Kurds, the Syriacs and all the components, are living together.
And we have a social contract, which is like a constitution for our area. And we believe that what we are doing here in the administration, and this social contract would be very comfortable for all Syrians. So it could be expanded.
And of course we have to, if there are things that we can maybe improve in this contract with the other partners in the future Syria, even hold discussions with the other parties and the governing… I mean the authorities in Damascus. So we have to reach an agreement for all Syrians.
And I think Syria cannot go back to before 2011. It should be a new Syria. The new Syria should recognise the rights of all the components living in Syria. So I think we will be able to do it if we are serious about peace and stability in Syria.
You have personally endured immense loss during the liberation of Kobani, a city symbolic of resistance against ISIS. How does your experience during those times shape your current vision for peace and reconciliation in Syria? What message do you have for the people of Kobani and the broader Kurdish population amid these uncertain times?
We as Kurdish people have been ignored by war for 100 years, a century. And everybody wanted to destroy us, the Kurdish people. They didn’t accept our existence. And of course, this struggle, and now everybody knows the Kurds and the Kurdish people and that they have their democratic rights and so on.
Of course, the price was very high, I mean with the blood of the young people, of the Syrians, of the Kurdish people. And of course our family was one of the families that paid the price of this struggle. And if we are not looking for more sacrifices and more victims, we have to find an end to that, which is peace, to live in peace.
The others, I mean the Syrians, accept to live together, there will be no problem. And I think we have paid the price, what we have paid is enough to have freedom and democracy in Syria. And I hope that we will be able to do it in these days.
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