Could Kurds be threatened amid conflict in Syria

Many wheels are in motion in Syria, which could leave Kurds and other minorities exposed.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN DECEMBER 1, 2024 10:07 Updated: DECEMBER 1, 2024 10:08

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), walk together near Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria March 5, 2019. (photo credit: REUTERS/RODI SAID)

Over the last several days, a group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has carried out a lightning-fast offensive, pushing the Syrian regime out of Aleppo in northern Syria.

This surprise attack is a major setback for the Syrian regime. In many ways, it reflects the weakness of the regime. The regime doesn’t have enough soldiers to replace its losses over the last thirteen years of civil war win Syria.

Syria is divided today between the regime in western Syria, the Turkish-controlled parts of northern Syria, HTS in Idlib in northwest Syria, and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria.

The SDF has many Kurdish members, and developments in Syria often threaten Kurds because their communities are near the frontlines in Aleppo, Tal Rifaat, and areas in eastern Syria.

Minorities have faced persecution

In a divided Syria, minorities have often faced potential persecution. The Kurds are one minority group that historically suffered under Assad’s regime. They used to suffer from a lack of citizenship in some areas and also suppression of their language and culture in a regime that portrayed itself as an Arab nationalist regime.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces take part in their graduation ceremony at a military camp in Erbil, Iraq, August 21, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/AZAD LASHKARI)

Recently, the Kurds have found themselves empowered because of their role in fighting ISIS and receiving backing from the Pentagon. However, with power came a spotlight that was not always helpful. Turkey’s government has fought Kurdish groups in Turkey, primarily the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Turkey accuses the SDF of being linked to the PKK via a group called the YPG, which is part of the SDF. The current advance by HTS against the regime could threaten to create spillover as Turkey could use the instability to attack Kurds, or various agendas could try to exploit the HTS advance to get HTS to attack the SDF.

Varying agendas in Syria have put minorities at a crossroads. For instance, the Syrian regime portrays itself as a protector of the Alawites, Christians, and Druze. The ruling family of Syria is Alawite however it is cognizant of the fact it rules over a country that is a majority Sunni Arab.

Sunni Arabs have also made up the majority of the Syrian opposition and rebel factions. This has sometimes put the rebels, who emerged after protesters in 2011, at odds with minority groups who are portrayed as “pro-Assad.” This is not a simple story and explaining it would take a book-length article.

However, what’s worth knowing is that minority groups find themselves exposed by war, and different agendas often try to pigeonhole them, and then they pay the price regardless of what side they choose.

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Kurds have been forced into this crucible. They went from being a relatively small minority in Syria that was suppressed by the regime to taking on control of their own areas as the regime melted away in 2012 and 2013. By 2014, they were on the frontline against a rising ISIS.

Isolated in eastern Syria the Kurdish towns and villages fought ISIS and helped save the Yazidis in Iraq when ISIS committed genocide. The YPG was the key faction that played this vital role. The US military, seeking partners to work by, with and through to defeat ISIS, worked with the YPG. They partnered with an umbrella group called the SDF, which included the YPG.

This worked well throughout 2016 as the SDF defeated ISIS. However, this brought the SDF into conflict with Turkish-backed rebel groups near Manbij. Turkey was busy turning Syrian rebels into proxies after the fall of Aleppo in 2016.

By 2018, Turkey had invaded the Kurdish area of Afrin and used the newly branded SNA, an umbrella to rebel groups, to ethnically cleanse Kurds from Afrin. Kurds ended up in IDP camps near Tal Rifatt near Aleppo. In Aleppo the Kurds also controlled their own areas, centered around Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood.

In eastern Syria the SDF controls a huge area east of the Euphrates river; with a few hundred US soldiers backing them against the remnants of ISIS. The Syrian regime ostensibly controls areas where Kurds live such as Kobani, near the border with Turkey.

Kurds are once again in the spotlight

With the HTS offensive, the Kurds are now again in the spotlight. This is because pro-Turkey propagandists are trying to create tensions in Syria by portraying the SDF or YPG as pro-Assad. In addition, Turkey is pushing the SNA to attack Kurds. HTS has turned south from Aleppo to fight the regime in and around Hama, taking the pressure of Kurds in Aleppo and Tal Rifaat. However, things could change.

There is talk of tensions near Deir Ezzor and Khasham near the Euphrates. The SDF could make a move as the regime weakens and take over more areas. Already, report say the SDF has taken over some areas the regime abandoned, including some airfields. This is important, but if Turkey thinks the SDF is getting to strong they may attack it. In 2019 Turkey got the Trump administration to say it would withdraw from Syria. This risked the existence of the SDF.

Many wheels are in motion in Syria. It could leave Kurds and other minorities exposed. These groups have often been pushed to support the regime with claims that if they don’t, then the opposition will persecute them. This creates a vicious cycle where minorities are pressed to support the regime and then portrayed as pro-regime supporters and attacked because of it, leading them to back the regime, so that this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, the Kurds are powerful enough, and they have a long history of oppression at the hands of the regime, that they have a third way, an autonomy that leaves them outside the regime camp and the Syrian rebel camp.

This can also potentially make them seem to be opponents of both. That doesn’t always work out well, but it’s the least bad option so far for the Kurds in Syria.