Bashar al-Assad’s regime has fallen to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). For the Syrian Kurds of Rojava, it’s a bittersweet moment.
Years of oppression under Assad have ended, but now an even greater threat looms. With Assad gone, Turkey and its allied militias are ramping up attacks on Kurdish regions.
The fight isn’t over. The same Kurdish forces that once defeated ISIS now face a new struggle—to defend their hard-won autonomy from powerful enemies on all sides.
On December 22, 2024, Syrian Kurdish activist Saeed Omer stood in solidarity with the Kurdish people of Rojava at a rally in Vancouver.
Hundreds of Kurds and supporters gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery, condemning the Turkish military’s ongoing assaults on Kurdish regions. Omer, who has long advocated for Kurdish rights, spoke passionately about the struggles faced by his people in Syria.
“My people are enduring brutal attacks from Turkey, but we will not bow down. We resist, and we stand united,” Omer said.
As the crisis deepens, the global Kurdish diaspora, especially the Kurdish community in Canada, remains concerned, rallying together to show unwavering support for their families and friends in Syria.
Omer immigrated to Canada in 2017, but his connection to his homeland remains strong. Before arriving, he was a vocal critic of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria during the 2000s, opposed ISIS in the 2010s, and resisted Turkey’s military aggression.
As a teenager, Omer faced harsh repression under Assad’s rule—a reality shared by thousands of Kurdish youth. However, with the fall of Assad’s regime, new uncertainties emerged.
“We had been waiting for this day for so long. Many Kurdish activists were killed or wounded simply for speaking Kurdish or trying to get identification. We were treated as second-class citizens,” Omer reflected.
Even from afar, Saeed Omer remains a steadfast advocate for Kurdish rights, highlighting the ongoing struggles of his people while calling for justice and recognition.
The Syrian regime did not publicly share the total number of Kurds living in the territory it controlled, but it is estimated to be around 2.5 million, located in the northern and northeastern regions of Syria, particularly in the provinces of Aleppo, Al-Hasakah, and Ar-Raqqa. The majority of Kurds live in the Rojava, which includes the Afrin, Kobani, and Jazira cantons.
When Syria became a French protectorate in 1921 and in the years that followed, Syrian Kurds refused to be integrated into the Syrian state. This led to decades of oppression, especially after the Ba’ath Party controlled power in 1963 after Syria’s independence. Under Hafez al-Assad (1971–2000) and his son Bashar al-Assad (2000–2024), the situation worsened. Kurds were stripped of their citizenship, displaced from their villages, and banned from speaking Kurdish or engaging in political activities.
The Assad regime withdrew from northeast Syria in 2012 as the Arab Spring fueled uprisings across the dictatorships of the Middle East and North Africa. For the first time, Kurds seized the opportunity to build an inclusive, self-governed society uniting Kurds, Arabs, Yazidis, and other communities.
In November 2013, the Syrian Kurds declared the autonomous region of Rojava, governed through democratic councils, with 40 per cent female representation. Women also served in the People’s Protection Units. The Kurds gained international recognition for defending the city of Kobani against ISIS in 2014, receiving U.S. -led coalition support.
In 2015, the Kurds, as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of groups opposed to the Assad regime, expanded their control over northern Syria, defeating ISIS in its final stronghold, Baghuz, in 2019. The Kurds in Rojava focus on direct democracy, gender equality, and ethnic pluralism, but face military pressure from Turkey and lack international recognition.
But Rojava pays a heavy price. Over 11,000 fighters have been killed, and threats from ISIS, Turkey, and the Syrian government persist. Meanwhile, Rojava shelters 74,000 refugees in al-Hawl camp, including families of foreign fighters abandoned by their home countries. “Controlling extremist threats isn’t just about protecting Kurdish lands—it’s about safeguarding the world,” Omer said.
Amin Othman, a Kurdish Syrian journalist based in Vancouver, warned that the greatest danger to the region and beyond stems from Turkey’s military actions, which he said bolster extremist groups like ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front.
“Instability in Rojava threatens not only the region but also global security,” Othman said. “This has serious consequences for counterterrorism efforts and could trigger new waves of refugees into neighbouring countries and Europe. It directly impacts regional stability, human rights, and the Kurdish people’s struggle for justice and equality.”
Othman, who fled the Assad regime in the early 2000s, has lived in Iraq and now Canada for decades. His family back home was stripped of Syrian citizenship, a common form of repression against Kurds under Assad.
Why Syrian Kurds live in fear
The collapse of the Assad regime did not bring security or stability. Instead, Kurds grew increasingly fearful of how any new government in Damascus might treat them, the growing threats from Turkey, and the international community’s indifference, particularly from the U.S.
During the Vancouver rally, Omer’s mixed emotions were evident as he expressed both a sense of happiness for the downfall of the regime and concern about the new developments.
“The alternative regime in Damascus won’t respect the rights of the Syrian Kurdish people. We wanted democracy, freedom, justice, and equality,” said Omer. “But we fear the history of these alternative regimes. They are not committed to democracy or diversity—they follow religious ideologies.”
HTS, with its roots in extremist Islamist movements, has gained control in parts of Syria, worsening the situation for the Kurds. Thousands of ISIS fighters remain in Kurdish-run prisons and displacement camps. Meanwhile, HTS and its allies are backed by Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, was a jihadist and he began his jihadist path by joining al-Qaeda in Iraq and later the Islamic State of Iraq. The U.S. once offered a $10 million reward for the capture of al-Sharaa, but after he gained power, they quietly dropped the bounty and shifted their stance toward him. al-Sharaa’s long-standing hostility toward the Kurds is unlikely to change. Now, his administration demands that all weapons fall under the interim government’s control. Backed by HTS, this move leaves the SDF with few options to defend its position—posing a serious threat to the Kurds, who distrust the new leadership.
Omer said that HTS’s ideology rejects everyone except themselves. They actively oppose minorities, including Kurds, and banned Christmas celebrations during the 2025 New Year. They also target and persecute Alawites
Omer argued that Turkey aims to exploit the situation and specifically destroy the Kurdish people.
“Turkey’s goal is not to support a democratic project in Syria, but to prevent any democratic vision in the Middle East that embraces diversity and accepts Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians,” he said.
Erdoğan posed a greater threat to the Kurds than ISIS, aiming to dismantle the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. He views the SDF, linked to the People’s Defense Units (YPG), as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Erdogan has long been accused of targeting Kurdish groups he considers terrorist organizations, such as the PKK, while critics argue that some of his policies have indirectly supported extremist groups in the region.
Othman believes the Kurdish forces continue their fight against ISIS, but “they face mounting pressure from multiple fronts—Turkey’s aggression, extremist cells, and a fragile security landscape. Yet their struggle remains crucial to both regional peace and international security,” he said.
Another fear of the Kurds stems from uncertainty surrounding the second administration of US President Donald Trump. If he were to pull out of Syria, it would leave Kurdish forces without a major international ally. Global powers, particularly the US, have demonstrated inconsistent support, most notably when Trump pulled troops out of the region in 2019, which exposed the Kurds to intensified assaults by Turkey.
“When the global coalition pulled its forces from the region, it hurt the Kurdish people and left them abandoned and helpless. Turkey took advantage of their withdrawal and took over the town of Afrin,” he said.
The U.S., the UK, and Israel remain cautious in supporting the Syrian Kurds due to their ties to Abdullah Öcalan. Öcalan (1948- ) is the imprisoned Kurdish philosopher and leader of the PKK, a Kurdish militant group from Turkey. He initially introduced the PKK as a Marxist-Leninist national liberation movement. Forced to leave Turkey in 1979, he found shelter in Syria under Hafez al-Assad, aligning himself with Assad’s regime in the 1980s, which opposed Turkey and its NATO ally, the U.S.
Öcalan also maintained ties with the Palestinian movement, and PKK fighters reportedly trained and fought alongside Palestinian groups against Israel. After his 1999 imprisonment, Öcalan shifted from pursuing an independent Kurdish state to advocating for democratic confederalism, which emphasizes local democracy, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
These states know that Öcalan inspired the Rojava revolution, as he educated thousands of Syrian Kurds in the 1980s and 90s. He openly criticized capitalism and U.S. policies toward the Global South, making Western powers wary of fully backing Kurdish forces. Prioritizing their strategic alliance with Turkey, the U.S. and its allies even aided in Öcalan’s capture.
Accusations of the Syrian Kurds being “pro-Israel” have fueled widespread suspicion and distrust toward them. In the past, many Arab leaders have accused the Kurds of aligning with Israel’s agenda in the Middle East. Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, opposed any Kurdish initiatives, calling them a threat to regional stability. More recently, in a video, former Hezbollah leader Subhi al-Tufayli urged Syrians to “eliminate the Kurdish threat,” blaming the Kurds for causing instability in the country. These statements have fueled anti-Kurd sentiment across the Arab world and the broader region.
What are the Kurds calling for?
During the rally, Omer held a banner urging Canada and its allies to pressure Turkey to halt its attacks on Syrian Kurds.
“Not only the Coalition countries but the entire world supports the Kurdish people. The Kurds defended the world during the ISIS attacks,” Omer said.
Othman, a civil activist and member of the Kurdish community in Canada, echoed these concerns. He called on the Canadian government and Parliament to take immediate action to protect the Kurds from aggression.
“Kurdistan faces serious threats to its political and national rights. There is growing fear that new political forces aim to dismantle the hard-won gains achieved through the sacrifices of our people,” Othman stated.He also urged the international community to take responsibility for ensuring a secure and stable future for the Kurdish people in Syria.
“Preserving the Autonomous Administration of Western Kurdistan and ensuring Kurdish rights in Syria’s future are crucial. Protecting the Syrian Kurds is a strategic necessity for promoting peace and security in Syria and the broader region,” Othman added.
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