‘Defend Rojava, defend democratic confederalism’

[DE | NL]

By Jürgen Klute

When the long period of tyranny under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad came to an end with a rebellion on 8 December 2024, there was a brief moment of hope that a new era of democracy and peace could begin in Syria under the transitional government of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. A good year later, these hopes must be considered dashed.

Syria is a diverse society. In addition to the Sunni majority, there are minorities such as Alawites, Christians and Druze. A large Kurdish minority lives in northern Syria, which established the autonomous region of West Kurdistan or Rojava over 10 years ago.

In March 2025, massacres of Alawites took place in western Syria (Der große Horror: Anfang März wurden bei einem Massaker in Syrien hunderte vorwiegend alawitische Zivilisten getötet. Die Überlebenden sammeln nun selbst Belege. taz 26.03.2025).

In June 2025, a suicide bombing took place in a church in Damascus (Terror in Syrien: Selbstmordanschlag auf Kirche. taz 23.06.2025).

In July 2025, bloody fighting broke out between Druze and Bedouin militias in the Syrian province of Suweida (Minderheitenkonflikte in Syrien: Ohne Aussicht auf Befriedung und Versöhnung. taz 0608.2025).

Since the beginning of 2026, there have been massive attacks on Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo and Kobanê (see: Kurdengebiete in Syrien: Kobanê in der Zange, taz 25.01.2026).

Kurds in various EU member states responded to these attacks with demonstrations (see the photo gallery below with photos of a Kurdish demonstration in Brussels).

On 21 January 2026, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria (Rojava) sent an open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and the President of the UN Security Council, Abukar Dahir Osman (the letter, written in English, is documented in full below this article).

In the letter, the senders complain that ‘the armed forces of the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa continue to attack towns and villages in the north-east of the country despite the announcement of a “ceasefire” by the transitional president on 20 January’.

‘The SDF,’ the letter continues, ‘has announced its acceptance of the ceasefire. We want a cessation of all violence immediately, but if the government’s attacks continue, we are forced to engage militarily in order to defend and protect civilians.’

The Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria emphasises that it considers a ceasefire to be urgently necessary and hopes that the Council will call for one without delay. At the same time, it is important for the members of the Security Council to note that only the government is currently engaging in aggressive hostilities. ‘We are not,’ the letter states. Under these circumstances, it is easy to blame ‘both sides’ equally or to call for a general ‘de-escalation’ on both sides. In this case, however, this is not appropriate. Diplomatic pressure must be exerted most strongly on the aggressor.

Foto: Jürgen Klute

The letter recalls that the Syrian transitional government began attacks on Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 January. Tanks and artillery were used in civilian areas during the attack. The attack was completely unprovoked and came without warning. In addition to the use of heavy weapons, air strikes with drones were carried out on civilian areas. At the time of writing, the attacks had resulted in 107 deaths and 322 injured civilians. Furthermore, 35,000 civilian households had been displaced and were now seeking refuge in eastern Syria.

Furthermore, the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria recalls that it has repeatedly declared its willingness to work with President Al-Sharaa to build a new and united Syria. In this spirit, it agreed in March 2025 to integrate the SDF into the Syrian army. After several meetings to clarify the conditions for the integration of the SDF into the army and to prepare for its implementation, the Syrian government delegation abruptly broke off the last meeting on 4 January 2026, the letter continues. ‘Despite the clarity of this history,’ the letter continues, ‘today we face accusations of ourselves blocking the process of integration. This could not be further from the truth.’

The letter emphasises that President Al-Sharaa has not yet been confirmed and legitimised in office by an election. “Instead, the president made a ‘constitutional declaration’ in March 2025 which granted extensive and unaccountable powers to the president, including the power to suspend the representative assembly i.e. democracy itself, in wholly undefined circumstances and without restraint by any other institution, such as the assembly, or courts. Power was concentrated in Damascus ie. the presidency, with no devolution of power to the regions. Islamic law was named as the only source of national laws. Democratic elections were postponed for five years, an inexplicably long period. In short, therefore, Syria now has an unelected president governing by decree and announcement. In our opinion this is not dictatorship – yet – but it is not democracy either.,” the authors of the letter conclude.

Foto: Jürgen Klute

The ethnically motivated outbreaks of violence against the Alawite and Druze minorities in western and southern Syria, and now also against Kurdish communities in the north-east, in which, according to international human rights organisations, government troops and extremist groups collaborating with them were involved, has led to the minorities living in Syria having little confidence in the current Syrian government.

Against this background, the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria calls in its letter for the establishment of a formal negotiation process. In the view of the authors of the letter, such a process should be initiated by the UN Special Envoy and should be open to the participation of other interested states. Within this framework, both military and political integration in Syria should be discussed.

In conclusion, they express their hope in the following words:

“This process would be the most constructive and, we trust, peaceful way to arrange the integration of the SDF with Syria’s existing army and to agree the fundamental elements of a new constitutional settlement, one that with substantive measures (and not mere declarations) protects all minorities, and women as well as men. Negotiations to date have been sporadic and sometimes chaotic, with no accountability for decisions made – such as President Al-Sharaa’s explicit agreement in October to our proposals for SDF integration.

Syria should not be governed and dominated by a single individual or group. This is a recipe for civil war and repression. Syria’s future should be for all the regions and minorities of Syria, its women and men, to decide. We call on the UN to enable and lead such a process of discussion and decision. A statement to this effect from the Council’s deliberations on 22 January would be a good start.”

On 25 January 2026, on the initiative of the Kurdish National Congress (KNK), representatives of the political parties and organisations of Kurdistan, together with a group of independent figures, met in Brussels at the KNK headquarters to discuss the situation in West Kurdistan. The outcome of this consultation was summarised in a statement.

It sharply criticises the religious establishment allied with the transitional government in Damascus for issuing an ANFAL fatwa against the Kurds and declaring Western Kurdistan a jihad (DARUL HARB).

The statement goes on to say that at a time like this, it is necessary to unite as quickly as possible and strengthen unity so that 60 million Kurds are no longer exposed to massacres, expulsion, denial, arrests, torture, chemical weapons attacks, Anfal and genocide. It states that the Kurds are a nation with tens of millions of people on their land and homeland, with their own memory and faith, their own language and culture. And it reminds that the Kurds have been on their land for thousands of years and at this time, they have the power and can govern themselves.

The authors have formulated the following main demands:

• We call on the Anti-ISIS Coalition Forces and the humanitarian and democratic world not to leave the Kurdish people alone and to stand against the jihadist forces at this sensitive and delicate time.

• Resolution talks are currently being held with the Damascus government. We call on the United Nations and the Anti-ISIS Coalition to reach a just solution for this meeting, to be partners and guarantors.

• The Kurdish issue is not just an issue of a few Middle Eastern countries, but has become a global issue and a solution must be found for it. On this basis, we call on the United Nations and global powers to urgently convene an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations to resolve the Kurdish issue.

Representatives of the political group The Left in the European Parliament have also spoken out on the situation of the Kurds in northern Syria. The co-chair of The Left, Martin Schirdewan (Die Linke, Germany), stated in a press release dated 20 January 2026: “It is unacceptable that the Syrian transitional government and its war against the Kurds are being financed with European public funds. European heads of state must not roll out the red carpet for Al-Sharaa. I call on European politicians and Chancellor Merz to take a clear stand now and demand an immediate end to the fighting against the Kurds and other ethnic and religious groups in Syria. The Kurds defeated ISIS, and for that they deserve our thanks and recognition. With many ISIS fighters now released from prison, there is a threat of a brutal wave of violence and massacres. The international community must not abandon Rojava now, but must show solidarity.”

Özlem Demirel (Die Linke, Germany), member of the AFET Committee, also emphasised: “A large-scale massacre of the Kurdish population is looming. The international community must break its silence and act immediately. No funds must flow to the al-Sharaa government as long as it denies the rights and collective security of Kurds, Alawites, Druze, and other groups. Syria is a multi-ethnic state, and the rights of all must be protected. The Kurds stand for Syria’s unity on the basis of self-administration and rightly demand equal rights and recognition of their identity, language, and culture.”

Foto: Jürgen Klute

Demirel repeated and reaffirmed her demands at the event organised at short notice by ’The Left‘ on the evening of 27 January at the European Parliament in Brussels, ’Defend Rojava, Defend Democratic Confederalism” (the livestream recording of the event can be viewed here). She also emphasised the legitimacy of the Kurds’ demand for self-government within the Syrian state and called on the EU to support the rights of the Kurds and other minorities in Syria.

Sinan Önal, member of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), emphasised that the Kurds in Rojava see themselves as part of Syria. The Kurds do not want to secede from Syria, he stressed, but rather they want a federal Syria in which the various minorities have the right to self-government in their areas of settlement. He also called on the EU to advocate for a democratic Syria and for the rights of minorities living in Syria in its dealings with the current Syrian government. Last but not least, Önal reminded the audience that the Kurds played a central role alongside the international coalition in defeating the terrorist regime of IS in Syria and Iraq. The Kurds now expect the EU and the UN to support them in return in building a democratic and federal Syrian state in which minorities have rights and are protected from attacks.

Foto: Jürgen Klute

On the afternoon of 28 January, another Kurdish demonstration took place in Brussels (see also the photo gallery below this article), this time in front of the European Parliament building on Place du Luxembourg. The demonstration was primarily directed at the EU. On the one hand, it drew attention to the acute danger and threat to the Kurds in northern Syria. On the other hand, they again demanded that the Syrian government in Damascus protect Syrian minorities and that financial aid be tied to democratisation and the protection of minorities living in Syria. Specifically, the EU was called upon to set up a monitoring system in Syria to accompany and ensure compliance with human rights and the further democratisation process from outside.

Photo gallery

Fotos: © Samuel Zickgraf

Link to the article

Ceasefire and Integration Agreement Reached Between Damascus and SDF | The Amargi, January 30, 2026

Documentation

Democratic Autonomous Administration of North East Syria

21 January, 2026

Statement by The Autonomous Administration of North East Syria for UN Security Council discussion of Syria on 22 January 2026

To:
HE Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
HE Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, Permanent Representative of Somalia to the United Nations, President of the UN Security Council

“We would be grateful if this message could be shared with other members of the Security Council in preparation for the discussion on 22 January. Given the situation on the ground, it is important that the views of all of those involved are shared”

CURRENT SECURITY SITUATION

The immediate situation – on 21 January, today – is that the military forces of the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa continue to attack towns and villages in the North East region despite the announcement of a ‘ceasefire’ by the transitional president on 20 January.

For our part, the SDF has announced its acceptance of the ceasefire. We want a cessation of all violence immediately, but if the government’s attacks continue, we are forced to engage militarily in order to defend and protect civilians.

URGENT NEED FOR CEASEFIRE

The need for a ceasefire is urgent and we hope that the Council will call for one immediately. At the same time, it’s important for Council members to note that only the government currently is engaged in aggressive hostilities. We are not. It is easy in these circumstances to place blame equally on ‘both parties’ or call for general ‘de-escalation’ by both sides. However, in this case, this would be inaccurate. Diplomatic pressure needs to be applied most forcefully upon the aggressor.

THE ORIGIN OF CURRENT VIOLENCE

The government attacks began with assaults on civilian Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6th January. This assault, which involved tanks and artillery in civilian areas, was totally unprovoked and came without warning. In addition to the deployment of heavy weapons, drones conducted air strikes on civilian areas. These attacks resulted in 107 civilian deaths and 322 injured civilians. 35 thousand household civilians were displaced and are now refugees in eastern Syria.

In order to prevent further bloodshed, and upon the advice of the US, we agreed to withdraw SDF forces from Aleppo and from other areas west of the Euphrates River. After further negotiation with the government, we then agreed to withdraw from Deir ez Zor and Raqqa governorates. These concessions however did not end the government’s aggression. STG forces attacked SDF soldiers across eastern Syria and pushed towards the major towns of Hasakeh and Kobani. At the time of writing, both towns remain under siege. All water and electricity has been cut off to Kobani, causing significant civilian suffering. The president’s announcement of a ‘ceasefire’ also contained, it must be noted, an explicit threat to attack towns and villages of the North East if the government’s terms were not accepted.

STG forces have been accompanied by other armed groups, including remnants of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian National Army (SNA), and assorted jihadists, including former members of Al Qaeda and ISIS – known members of both terrorist groups have been identified alongside government forces. Both STG forces and these extremist groups have committed atrocities both against civilians and SDF soldiers, both men and women. SDF soldiers have been tortured and summarily executed, their corpses desecrated or thrown off buildings. Videos of these criminal acts are then gleefully shared online by the jihadists, accompanied by religious chanting celebrating the murder of non-believers (i.e. Kurds), acts which are reminiscent of ISIS terrorism in years past. The religious and ethnic character of the STG campaign was underlined by the government’s denoting of its aggression as ‘Anfal’, a Koranic verse cited by Saddam Hussein for his genocidal campaign in northern Iraq in 1988 which killed 100,000 Kurds.

BACKGROUND TO THE CURRENT SITUATION

There is a broader history which must be understood.

We, like other Syrians, welcomed the fall of the dictator Assad, who was responsible for systematic repression of Kurds in Syria, including the denial of citizenship and other human rights. When power was seized by President al-Sharaa in December 2024, we repeatedly pledged our willingness to partner with him to build a new, unified Syria. For example, the commander of the SDF signed an agreement with President al-Sharaa on 10 March 2025 committing the SDF to become an integral part of the Syrian army. There were several meetings to take this agreement forward, including with the transitional president himself. We made multiple proposals for military integration, including handing over a list of SDF personnel, an act of significant good faith and trust, and proposing that the SDF join the army as three distinct divisions, in order to preserve their regional character. President al-Sharaa accepted this proposal, his agreement witnessed by several officials from the government, SDF and US. However, since that meeting, there has been no response to our proposals. At a meeting in Damascus on 4 January, the government delegation abruptly terminated the meeting without explanation.

Despite the clarity of this history, today we face accusations of ourselves blocking the process of integration. This could not be further from the truth.

On the political future of Syria, it should be emphatically noted that President Al-Sharaa has never been elected as president. He took power by force. At the parliamentary ‘elections’ that took place in November, the president appointed a third of the ‘elected’ representatives and the other two-thirds were appointed by committees appointed by him. Most notably, there were no elections in the North East or coastal regions. Therefore there is no democratic mandate to claim the rule of Syria. We have been however, and remain, prepared to work with the STG to establish a stable long-term constitutional settlement for Syria.

Instead, the president made a ‘constitutional declaration’ in March 2025 which granted extensive and unaccountable powers to the president, including the power to suspend the representative assembly i.e. democracy itself, in wholly undefined circumstances and without restraint by any other institution, such as the assembly, or courts. Power was concentrated in Damascus ie. the presidency, with no devolution of power to the regions. Islamic law was named as the only source of national laws. Democratic elections were postponed for five years, an inexplicably long period. In short, therefore, Syria now has an unelected president governing by decree and announcement. In our opinion this is not dictatorship – yet – but it is not democracy either.

Meanwhile, there have been bouts of ethnically driven violence against the Alawite and Druze minorities in western and southern Syria, and now against Kurdish communities in the North East. Hundreds have been killed in this violence, which has involved massacres, torture and summary executions. The involvement of government forces and the extremist groups which operate alongside them in these killings has been well documented, including by international human rights organizations. After these events, it is unsurprising that there is little confidence among Syria’s minorities that they will be protected by this government.

THE WAY FORWARD

It is unconscionable in this circumstance for the international community to permit the violent and militarized imposition of central government rule in the North East. Our region has been selfgoverned with stability and peace since 2012. It is a direct democracy, where the people themselves make decisions. It is a unique women-led and multi-ethnic government, and should not be essentialized as ‘the Kurds’ which is a lazy (and, frankly, ‘Orientalist’) way to reduce a multi-ethnic dispensation built over many years, involving Arabs, Yazidis, Syriac communities as well as Kurds. This depiction and resulting policy are typical habit of arranging the affairs of the Middle East without consulting the people themselves, and without taking account of the complexities and history on the ground.

To reflect the needs and protect the rights of the many ethnic and religious groups present in today’s Syria, we have proposed a decentralized government structure, with significant powers devolved to the regional governorates. We have never proposed that the North East be governed separately or that it should secede from Syria, as some have claimed. along the lines for instance of the German Basic Law or Swiss constitution, is the best, in fact the only, way to guarantee the rights and safety of Syria’s minorities and thus provide peace and stability for the country as a whole.

Council members should be aware that the current state that the transitional government is building in Syria is not a rights-respecting ‘democracy’. It is a highly centralized and Islamist government which prioritises the rights of the majority ethnic group and Islam itself over other religions and ethnic groups which are instead to be dominated by force and coercion, usually outside the gaze of the international press. This manner of governing is a recipe for instability. Note for instance the naming of the Syrian army as the ‘Syrian Arab Army’ – an overt choice to exclude Syria’s Druze, Yazidi and Kurdish communities. At the same time, legitimizing the fight against the SDF by falsely depicting the SDF as ‘terrorist’, a description that flies in the face of the SDF’s long history – and huge sacrifices – in combating ISIS terrorism for the last 12 years, at a cost of no less than forty thousand casualties, and our long-standing commitment to joint operations against ISIS under the international auspices of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).

THE NECESSARY ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS

In the circumstances we have described, there is a clear need for impartial international engagement to ensure peace and security – and democracy – in Syria. We would welcome the establishment of a formal negotiation process, convened by the UN Special Envoy, attended by other states with an interest, to discuss both military and political integration in Syria. This process would be the most constructive and, we trust, peaceful way to arrange the integration of the SDF with Syria’s existing army and to agree the fundamental elements of a new constitutional settlement, one that with substantive measures (and not mere declarations) protects all minorities, and women as well as men. Negotiations to date have been sporadic and sometimes chaotic, with no accountability for decisions made – such as President Al-Sharaa’s explicit agreement in October to our proposals for SDF integration.

Syria should not be governed and dominated by a single individual or group. This is a recipe for civil war and repression. Syria’s future should be for all the regions and minorities of Syria, its women and men, to decide. We call on the UN to enable and lead such a process of discussion and decision. A statement to this effect from the Council’s deliberations on 22 January would be a good start.

Signed:
Ilham Ahmed, Head of the Office of External Relations, Democratic Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (DAANES) 44

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