Kurds

Members of People's Defense Units (YPG) stand guard as Syrian government internal security personnel enter the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Feature

After SDF-Damascus truce, is Kurdish haven still safe for Syria's Alawites?

Thousands of Alawites who fled violence in western Syria now face uncertainty as the Syrian government and Kurdish forces reach a tentative truce.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

SDF commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane, meets with Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on Feb. 5, 2026.

Exclusive

100 non-Syrian Kurds return to PKK’s Qandil stronghold under SDF-Damascus deal

The transfer of non-Syrian PKK fighters to Iraq’s Qandil Mountains follows a US-brokered SDF-Damascus deal aimed at easing tensions and preserving Kurdish forces under national army oversight.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Members of Syrian security forces at the entrance of the al-Hol camp in the desert region of Hasakah province which holds around 24,000 people, including some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities on Jan. 21, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Feature

Syrian Kurds say US ignored pleas for help as ISIS detainees turned on them in al-Hol

Chaos at al-Hol during clashes between Kurdish forces and Damascus underscored the widening security vacuum amid Kurdish claims of US abandonment.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters stand on a pick-up truck to provide security during an inspection of SDF positions on the Tell Brak frontline in Syria on Jan. 26, 2026.

France's role in Syria-SDF agreement: What to know

French diplomatic sources highlight the role played by Paris in recent months in reaching an agreement between the Sharaa government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Latest News

Iraq's Shiite bloc holds talks with Kurds as deadlock on president, PM persists

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani meets the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, in Erbil on Monday.

Analysis

Kurds, Damascus step back from brink as SDF signs fresh deal with Syrian government

Kurdish security forces patrol the street on Jan. 23, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Interview

YPG spokesman: Syrian forces' strategy is to isolate Kurdish towns and cities

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

YPG spokesman

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

Roj Camp

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples DEM Party attend a rally for the Turkish Municipal elections to be held on March 31, in Esenyurt Square, in Istanbul on Feb. 25, 2024.

Exclusive

Turkey mulls peace talks with Kurds amid fears of Israeli strike on Iran

Three well-placed sources told Al-Monitor that exploratory talks for a possible resumption of negotiations between the Turkish government and imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan were already underway.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey's right-wing Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli greets the crowd during the party's 12th Ordinary Grand Congress in Ankara, on March 18, 2018.

Analysis

A surprise handshake in Turkey's parliament: Nationalist-Kurdish thaw or political maneuver?

The escalating conflict in the region — among other considerations — has prompted unexpected handshakes between two foes in Turkey: pro-Kurdish DEM Party lawmakers and Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters from the Turkish-backed 1st Corps of the Samarkand Brigade take part in a military parade in the opposition-held Afrin region of northern Syria, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Interview

Syrian-Kurdish KNC leader decries abuse by Turkey-backed Sunni factions in Afrin

Kurdish National Council President Sleiman Oso told Al-Monitor that dialogue with his group's rivals, the PYD, is still possible.

Sleiman Oso

Sleiman Oso

Kurdish National Council President

Women and a child queue to receive humanitarian aid packages at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp.

Analysis

How ISIS brides held by Syria’s Kurds are smuggled to suitors in Europe

The women are finding their prospective husbands on the internet using smuggled mobile phones.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iran’s Pezeshkian concludes 'historic' visit to Iraq with talks on trade, border security

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized Iraq’s economic and security significance to the Islamic Republic in his visit, though he did not visit Sunni areas.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

This handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on Dec. 24, 2023, shows soldiers attending the unveiling ceremony of a new missile system.

Iran’s new air base near border with Turkey: What we know

The unveiling of the base near the Turkish border comes amid Iranian concerns about Azerbaijan and Kurdish groups in Iraq.

In this picture taken on April 25, 2023, mountains overlook the village of Hiror near the Turkish border in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, where firefights occur between the Turkish army and fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkish soldier killed in PKK clash in Iraqi Kurdistan as Baghdad presses Ankara to withdraw

Recent civilian deaths have reignited calls from Iraqi officials for the withdrawal of thousands of Turkish troops deployed across Iraqi Kurdistan.

The mother (C) and father (2-R) of one of two women journalists killed in a drone strike walk past Kurdish Asayish security forces.

Civilian toll rises in Turkey’s attacks against Kurdish militants in Iraq

The recent spike in Turkish attacks comes at an especially critical time as Iraq's Kurdistan Region prepares to hold long-delayed parliamentary elections.

Iraqi security forces monitor the area during a demonstration to demand the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Bashiqa camp, located in the Mosul province, on Oct. 8, 2016, outside the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad.

Analysis

Turkey’s security pact with Iraq: Which side came out on top?

The most contested presence for Baghdad is the military base established by Turkish forces in 2015 near the Iraqi town of Bashiqa.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A soldier rides on a Turkish armored vehicle near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq during a military drill on September 18, 2017.

Iraq, Turkey set to end standoff over military base with new pact

The deal, hailed by both sides as historic, includes an agreement to turn a Turkish military base in the Iraqi town of Bashiqa over to the Iraqi government.

Women worshippers stand at the altar, they pray and tie knots in pieces of cloth that represent their wishes, during their visit to the new Yazidi Temple in the village of Aknalich, 35 kilometres from the Armenian capital Yerevan, on October 11, 2019.

Yazidis or Kurds? The fight over identity in Armenia and Iraq

A growing number of Yazidis insist they are not ethnic Kurds, part of an effort to construct a distinct identity in order to survive.

Iraq's new first lady and Iraqi-Kurdish politician and writer Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed receives a bouquet of flowers during her husband's inauguration and handover ceremony as the new Iraqi president at al-Salam Palace in the capital Baghdad on Oct. 17, 2022.

Iraq’s first lady blasts Turkey’s assault against PKK in Kurdistan Region

The first lady's own family history and the upcoming parliamentary elections are likely behind her decision to speak up now.