Kurds

Coup to crackdown: Erdogan’s unfinished war on Turkey’s Kurds - opinion

Fifteen percent of the Turkish population, approximately 16 million, are Kurds, and Erdogan needs to accept that they have a right to live their lives as they see fit.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen at parliament last Wednesday. The president’s consolidation of power since 2016 has reshaped institutions, narrowed civil liberties, and placed entire communities, particularly Kurds, under intensified repression and persecution, the writer says.
Soldiers ride on a tank as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Tuesday.

As Syrian forces push northeast, Kurds mobilize against new jihadi assault

Six stabbed, four arrested at Kurdish rally in Antwerp, Belgium, January 23, 2026.

Six stabbed during Kurdish rally in Antwerp, four suspects arrested

A Syrian national flag flutters next to the Islamic State's slogan at a roundabout where executions were carried out by ISIS militants in the city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria April 1, 2016.

Iraq says it will begin legal proceedings against ISIS prisoners transferred from Syria


Ahmed al-Sharaa's recognition as statesman shows Western policy's shortsightedness - opinion

Political Islam is not a sudden flare-up of religious fanaticism, but a powerful instrument that has evolved over centuries.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, October 15, 2025.

Kurds and Israel: Distant proximity, strategic partnership - opinion

Kurds are not cold toward Israel but merely strategically distant, which does not reject the possibility of partnership.

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Abbas Araghchi (right) speaks with Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Istanbul in June. The North Kurdistan political movement is under Ankara’s harsh pressure. In Iran, Kurds face systematic suppression, says the writer.

Iran carries out highest level of prisoner executions in past two decades in Oct., watchdog says

Out of the eight political prisoners Iran executed during October, Hengaw identified seven as being sentenced on charges of espionage for Israel.

Activists protest against Iranian executions in Rome, Italy, July 30, 2025.

Israel exploited Assad govt's fall to impose expansionist, destabilizing project, Syrian FM claims

Syrian FM Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani accused Israel of pursuing expansionist goals and said Moscow aided Assad’s regime, as Syria rebuilds ties with China.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani attends a press conference at the Lebanese foreign ministry, in Beirut, October 10, 2025.

Syria sends mixed signals on integration of US-backed SDF into security forces - analysis

Damascus and the SDF both have some mixed messages on the path forward with the SDF, although everyone wants to see progress.

A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with people in Sweida, on July 17, 2025.

Will the US-backed SDF integrate with Syria’s new security forces? - analysis

Since the Assad regime fell, Syrian Kurdish-led forces have clashed with the new government's forces.

Armed members of the Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) military police take part in a demonstration under the banner “With our will, we will protect our revolution.” in Qamishli, Syria, September 17, 2025.

Syria’s SDF anti-ISIS fighters look to future after 10 year anniversary

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces mark 10 years as a US-backed anti-ISIS force, signaling plans to integrate with the Syrian army under a new deal.

 Soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces stand in front of the detainees before the first exchange operation between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government in Aleppo, Syria, April 3, 2025.

Syria after the election and the betrayal of Western values - opinion

The political exclusion of Syria’s democratic and secular forces, including Kurdish and Druze communities, is concerning.

VOTES ARE counted for candidates in the election of a new Syrian parliament, in Aleppo, last Sunday. It does not mark a new beginning, just a continuation of authoritarian power under a new leadership, the writer maintains.

Can Syria prevent a new crisis with Kurds from developing? - analysis

After deadly clashes in Aleppo, Syria’s transitional government reached a ceasefire with Kurdish forces to stabilize the north.

A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with people in Sweida, on July 17, 2025.

Syrian army redeploys near SDF fronts in northeast Syria as clashes rise

Kurdish SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami accused factions belonging to the Damascus government of attempting to enter two Kurdish-held districts of Aleppo with tanks.

 Soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces stand in front of the detainees before the first exchange operation between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government in Aleppo, Syria, April 3, 2025.