Open letter calls for global solidarity in support of Syrian Kurds

Dr. Amir Sharifi | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Open Letter : Call for International Solidarity to uphold, support Kurdish Democratic Syrian (SDF) forces against Jihadist forces in Syria

Date: January 10, 2026

The Kurds of Southern California expressed and continue to affirm their support for peaceful co-existence in Aleppo Sheikh Masoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods that were under ferocious attacks by Turkish supported Jihadists. We urge congress and U.N in the following letter to halt, uphold, and enforce a lasting peace in Aleppo and Northeast Syria.

Contrary to the U.N charter and humanitarian principles , several civilians including children and women were massacred ; many others were wounded. 140,000 Kurdish civilians had been displaced, and a great many remain under curfew and constant savagery of artillery fire.

The anguish of the Kurdish residents was immense as they faced mutilation, humiliation, ethnic cleansing ,and macabre murders of Jihadists. Haunting past continues to traumatize civilians and those facing forced migration and those of us who watched unfolding tragedies from a far. As you are aware no tangible treaties or norms to protect minorities have been approved officially in Syria to protect the minority populations from persecution and other denials of basic human rights.

Thousands of Kurds flee the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria, after Syrian government–aligned Islamist militias attack the area and designate it a closed military zone, January 7, 2026. Photo: AFP

Many of us still remember September of 2014 when ISIS launched its monstrous strikes against the city of Kobani after committing a genocide against Yazidis in Northern Iraq. The world saw how the Kurdish resistance against ISIS siege of Kobani was legendary particularly by women fighters. As the world conscience grappled with the existence of this new threat, the Kurds fought it courageously.

Thus far Kurds in Rojava have lost 15,000 lives to liberate themselves and promote peace and stability in their region and Syria. The Western world led by the U.S played an active role in forming and training Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and thus fostering a mutual partnership highly praised by Westerners. As you are aware, unfortunately, the conflict threatens to be exacerbated by Turkey.

SDF for the past 14 years has laid the foundation of an inclusive democracy for all ethnicities and religions in Northeast Syria. Such an open democracy is still in grave danger. a democracy that that has been repeatedly reaffirmed by popular support from millions of protesters from major cities in Syria, Southeast Turkey, Europe, and the U.S.

We call on U.S and U.N

To denounce the Syrian Jihadist war against Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo and Northeast Syria.
To lend their support to the Kurds not just as a political debt but as a moral imperative to serve social justice for all minorities in Syria.
To honour and protect the Kurdish population from persecutions, displacements, and conflicts imposed on them by the Jihadist forces.

Signed

Sincerely Yours
Dr. Amir Sharifi

Dr Amir Sharifi, a lecturer at California State University, Department of Linguistics, Long Beach, and Co-Director of the Kurdish Human Rights Advocacy Group ( KHRAG), Los Angeles.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.