Kurds

Syrian Kurds lift placards and flags during a rally calling for an autonomous administration and Kurdish rights in Syria's predominantly Kurdish northeastern city of Qamishli, on Sept. 17, 2025.

Ankara: Jailed PKK chief favors unitary Syria, no separate Kurdish defense force

The militant leader called for “police-like” security units in Syrian Democratic Forces areas during his landmark meeting with a Turkish parliamentary delegation, according to a transcript summary.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) meet in Irbil on April 12, 2025.

Exclusive

Iraq's Kurds air fury over PM Sudani's stance after attack on gas field

“We were shocked at Sudani’s audacity. Imagine the state we would have been in had he gotten his way,” a senior Iraqi Kurdish official speaking not for attribution told Al-Monitor.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

People take part in a demonstration to call for the liberation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Analysis

PKK leader Ocalan gains legitimacy in Turkey, bigger sway over Syria’s Kurds

The ongoing deadlock between Damascus and the SDF is seen as a major obstacle to progress in Turkey’s efforts to address its long-standing Kurdish issue.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Sipan Hemo

Exclusive

SDF commander Hemo: Syria’s Kurds prepare for threat of war as Damascus talks falter

As US-brokered talks stall, Kurdish forces are preparing contingencies while continuing dialogue with Damascus to secure Syria’s future, SDF commander Sipan Hemo told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Erdogan's top ally calls for release of Kurdish leader amid speculation of rift

A man holds a portrait of Selahattin Demirtas during a gathering of Turkish Kurds for Nowruz celebrations marking the New Year of the Persian calendar and the first day of spring, Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, March 21, 2025.

Syria’s Shibani says no concrete progress in integration talks with Kurds

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - DECEMBER 30: Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani during a press conference after a meeting between the Syrian leadership and a Ukrainian delegation to help strengthen ties between the two countries on December 30, 2024 in Damascus, Syria. Syria is transitioning after the fall of the Baath regime and the Assad family's rule, with a temporary administration now in place in Damascus and Aleppo. (Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

Iraq's security chief visits Iran, steps up border and railway cooperation: What to know

Iraqi national security adviser Qasim al-Araji meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran, on Oct. 20, 2025.

Syria’s SDF releases detainees as 'goodwill' gesture after talks with Damascus

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Jan. 24, 2019.

A man sits near a coronavirus awareness billboard, during a lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Damascus, Syria, April 4, 2020. Picture taken April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC2YXF91PSOD

Amid coronavirus concerns, some US-funded aid work paused in northeast Syria

The United States intends to focus more on stabilizing Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah provinces as it suspends humanitarian operations in northeast Syria due to COVID-19.

Pump jacks operate in an oil field in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on March 11, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey appears to want more than Syria’s oil

Like Moscow and Washington, Ankara seems to be coveting the oilfields of Deir ez-Zor in Syrian Kurdistan, which Kurds fear would give Turkey an opening to take over the entire Rojava area.

A boy stands holding a Kurdish flag near a bonfire marking the Kurdish holiday of Noruz in Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on March 20, 2020, after the local authorities cancelled holiday celebrations due to fears of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease. - The Persian New Year is an ancient Zoroastrian tradition celebrated by Iranians and Kurds which coincides with the vernal (spring) equinox and is calculated by the solar calendar. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SO

Syrian Kurds still fight for rights on unrecognizable battlefield

Nine years into the Syrian war, much has changed for the Kurds, but conditions seem riper today than ever for them to obtain their rights.

A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands on the back of a pick-up truck, with a weapon installed on it, in Qamishli, Syria March 30, 2019. Picture taken March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC1961AA5550

SDF calls for humanitarian truce in Syria amid coronavirus crisis

Following the lead of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces call for a cease-fire in order for all warring parties to combat COVID-19 instead.

Deir ez-Zor residents protest rule by Syrian Kurdish group

The Deir ez-Zor military council, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has been firing on protesters and believes they are being fed anti-SDF propaganda by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Oil pumpjacks are seen at the Rumeilan oilfield, Qamishli province December 11, 2013. Picture taken December 11, 2013. To match Special Report SYRIA-KURDISTAN/ REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: ENERGY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS COMMODITIES) - GM1EA1M1LFR01

Erdogan turns to oil in a bid to salvage Syria policy

Turkey’s president eyes oil-related bargains in Syria after failing to achieve his stated objectives in Idlib and acquiescing to a new deal with Russia in the rebel stronghold.

Kurdish protesters carry flags and a banner with a portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration against Turkey's military action in northeastern Syria in Zurich, Switzerland October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann - RC148C889EE0

What's behind Ankara's decision to lift visit ban on jailed PKK leader?

The Turkish government's decision to allow family visits for Abdullah Ocalan may be linked to Ankara's ongoing operation in northwest Syria.

ZAGROS, IRAQ - JULY 27: A Kurdish-Iranian smuggler packs his horse in preparation to carry goods over the Iraq border into Iran on July 27, 2017 in the Zagros Mountains, northern Iraq. (Photo by Martyn Aim/Corbis via Getty Images)

Mountain couriers brave bullets along Iran-Iraq border

As the economic crisis deepens in Iran, more people are risking their lives to earn money by transporting goods through the mountains of the Kurdistan region on the Iraq-Iran border.

Syrian Kurds ponder Afrin’s recapture in shadow of Idlib crisis

The Syrian Kurds' partial collaboration with Syrian government forces in northwestern Aleppo has so far failed to expand amid whirlwind developments in Idlib.

Russian and Syrian national flags flutter on military vehicles near Manbij, Syria October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC1E8CFB81C0

Is Russia cozying up to Syria's Kurds amid rift with Turkey?

The United States has reportedly cautioned the Kurds not to fight Turkey in any potential escalation in Syria, but Russia appears to have moved closer to the Kurds, as suggested by Kurdish collaboration with the Syrian army in areas along Idlib’s boundaries with Afrin.

The Manbij Military Council members are seen during a news conference in Manbij, Syria June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC119372D1F0

Will Manbij fighters heed the call to return home?

The Manbij Military Council has called on rebel fighters from Manbij to desert their militias and return to their cities and villages.

Displaced yet again, Syrians flee Idlib for Manbij

With intense shelling and catastrophic conditions in Idlib province, the Syrian Democratic Forces are welcoming refugees into areas they control to the east around Manbij.