Syria recognises Kurdish language and culture amid unrest over northern autonomy push

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with the people in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiya, as the last Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave the Syrian city of Aleppo on January 11, 2026. — Reuters pic

DAMASCUS, Jan 17 — Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on Friday declaring Kurdish a “national language”, in an apparent gesture of good will towards the minority following clashes in recent days.

The decree is the first formal recognition of Kurdish national rights since Syria’s independence in 1946.

It stated Kurds were “an essential and integral part” of Syria, where they have suffered decades of marginalisation and oppression under former rulers.

The decree makes Kurdish a “national language” that can be taught in public schools in areas where the minority community is heavily present.

Sharaa also made the Kurdish new year, Nowruz, which falls on March 21, an official holiday and granted nationality to Kurds, as 20 percent of them had been stripped of it under a controversial 1962 census.

In a televised address announcing the decree, Sharaa urged Kurds to “actively participate in building this nation”, vowing to “guarantee” their rights.

Impasse 

The announcement came as progress to implement a March deal to integrate the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration in the north into the state has stalled.

Senior Kurdish political figure Salih Muslim told AFP he viewed the decree as “an attempt to evade the rights of the Kurdish people and to divide them”.

The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces control swathes of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast, much of which it captured during the country’s civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group over the past decade.

The country’s population of 20 million has around two million Kurds, 1.2 million of them in the northeast, according to Syria expert Fabrice Balanche.

Syria’s Islamist-led government is seeking to extend its authority across the country following the ouster of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

Kurdish forces were driven out of two Aleppo city neighbourhoods by the Syrian army last week.

Battles 

The Syrian army then deployed reinforcements near Deir Hafer, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Aleppo, ordering Kurdish fighters to leave the area.

SDF leader Mazloum Abdi announced on X that “based on calls from friendly countries and mediators... we have decided to withdraw our forces tomorrow morning at 7:00 am (0400 GMT)” east of Aleppo “towards redeployment in areas east of the Euphrates”.

The defence ministry in Damascus welcomed Abdi’s announcement, saying Syrian army troops will be deployed in the areas the SDF will withdraw from.

Earlier on Friday, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told AFP that a delegation from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition had met with them in Deir Hafer that day.

That evening, the Syrian army struck what it said were Kurdish positions in Deir Hafer.

The SDF said the town was “currently under heavy artillery bombardment”.

Civilians fleeing 

The Syrian army had given civilians a deadline to flee the area before starting its attacks, with at least 4,000 people leaving according to Syrian authorities.

The military had used the same tactic in the city of Aleppo last week, telling civilians to depart before shelling Kurdish-held districts.

AFP correspondents saw some using a rickety bridge to cross a branch of the Euphrates River.

“The SDF stopped us from leaving – that’s why we used an agricultural back road and then crossed the bridge,” said 60-year-old Abu Mohammad, who was accompanied by relatives.

Civilians have been fleeing the area on back roads since Thursday.

Syrian authorities had extended the deadline to flee until Friday, accusing the SDF of preventing civilians from leaving, a claim the group dismissed as “unfounded”.

On Sunday, government troops took full control of Aleppo city after capturing two Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods. — AFP