Kurdish controlled syria

The strategic misjudgment of the Kurdish factor in Iran’s war - opinion

While Washington initially expressed rhetorical support for the Kurdish opposition, it later issued more cautious messages discouraging active Kurdish involvement in the conflict.

|ByVEYSI DAG
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026.
Children hold signs on the day Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026.

Syria’s limited Kurdish election exposes limits of Damascus’s democratic transition - analysis

Syria had already held types of limited elections in other areas of Syria last year. However, areas outside government control did not hold a vote.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
The debris of a destroyed building and a motorbike litters the ground following a Jordanian strike on reported drugs and weapons storage facilities in the village of Arman, in the southern Druze-majority province of Sweida, of which many parts are outside the control of Damascus on May 3, 2026.

Petty clashes over a sign in Syria risk snowballing into real conflict

Protesters in Hasakah and also in Qamishli object to the removal of Kurdish from official signs on government buildings.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hold a press conference at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany March 30, 2026.

EU to restore Syria relations, strengthen trade and security ties, document shows

Syria, which had most Western sanctions lifted at the end of last year, is seeking broader integration into the international community under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

|ByREUTERS

Syria accuses Kurds of breaking truce in 'dangerous escalation,' tenuous peace deal threatened

The Syrian army said an attack took place as soldiers were securing a captured military base containing explosives, calling it a dangerous escalation.

JANUARY 22, 2026ByREUTERS
Soldiers of Syrian government forces stand by on a position 10 km away from the city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria on January 21, 2026.

Protesters outside US embassy demand US, Israeli action after Kurdish massacre

Several signs pointed to Israel’s close relationship with the Kurdish community. One read “Israel loves Kurdistan,” while others went further, openly calling for military action against the regime.

JANUARY 22, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Around 50 protesters gathered outside the US embassy to protest against what they described as Washington's inaction in the face of the latest massacre in Syria carried out by the Sharaa regime, on January 21, 2026.

Kurdish commander calls on US to 'intervene forcefully' in Syria clashes

The head of the YPG warned that only the US or its coalition partners can halt Syria’s advance into Kurdish-held territory, as government forces seize key towns and energy sites.

JANUARY 18, 2026ByREUTERS, JAMES GENN
Members of the Kurdish Internal Security Forces known as "Asayish", and residents rally during a demonstration against the attacks by the Syrian government forces and in support of Kurdish fighters in Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in the country's northeast on January 18, 2026.

CENTCOM urges Syria to cease attacks on SDF, Kurdish forces as clashes escalate

US Central Command has appeared to try to seek to de-escalate tensions. US officials, including envoy Tom Barrack, have also tried to manage the escalating violence.

JANUARY 17, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A group of civilians carry bags and belongings as they flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

US killed al-Qaeda affiliate leader tied to December attack in Syria, CENTCOM says

US-led coalition planes flew over flashpoint towns in northern Syria where army troops and Kurdish factions clashed on Saturday, a Syrian security source and a Turkish defense source told Reuters.

JANUARY 17, 2026ByREUTERS, GOLDIE KATZ
A member of the Syrian army walks with a weapon in the street as civilians flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

Al-Sharaa issues decree granting Kurdish Syrians full Syrian nationality, legal protections

The decree, which includes eight articles, established that “Syrian Kurdish citizens are an essential and integral part of the Syrian people."

JANUARY 17, 2026ByGOLDIE KATZ
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech on the first anniversary of Bashar al-Assad's fall, in Damascus, Syria December 8, 2025.

Aleppo’s forgotten victims: How the West abandoned the Kurds in their time of need - opinion

If humanity is truly to be a shared value, then pain must also be shared. Why do the same eyes that shed tears for Gaza not weep for Aleppo?

JANUARY 14, 2026ByAMED MARDIN
A solidarity protest organized denouncing attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, with demonstrators holding Kurdish flags and placards reading Stop the genocide of Kurds in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, takes place in, Athens, Greece, on January 11, 2026.

After failed truces in Syria, will the newest ceasefire in Aleppo last? - analysis

Amid ongoing clashes with the SDF, Syrian government forces announced a suspension of military operations in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood, though tensions remain high.

JANUARY 12, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
Entrance to the Ashrafieh neighborhood in Aleppo.

US envoy to Syria calls for immediate ceasefire between SDF, Syrian military

United States Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned that the "deeply concerning" clashes may "risk undermining the progress achieved since the fall of the Assad regime."

JANUARY 10, 2026ByGOLDIE KATZ
US SPECIAL ENVOY for Syria Tom Barrack speaks at a news conference in Damascus in September 2025.

Syria says it has taken control of Aleppo's Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood, Kurdish forces deny claims

The Syrian forces combed through 90% the neighbourhood according to the SANA News Agency, while Kurdish representatives assured Reuters that their forces were still present in Aleppo.

JANUARY 10, 2026ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN, REUTERS
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence work to extinguish a fire after shelling amid renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Aleppo, Syria, January 8, 2026.