Thousands of Kurds rally in Syrian Kurdistan in show of solidarity

QAMISHLO,— Thousands of Kurds gathered in Qamishlo city in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) on Sunday to demonstrate support ahead of the implementation of a recent agreement with the Syrian government.

The rally came two days after the Syrian government and Kurdish authorities finalized a broad deal on Friday that would gradually fold Kurdish military and civilian institutions into state structures.

The arrangement followed weeks in which Kurdish forces pulled back from some areas as Syrian government Islamist troops advanced, according to officials.

The developments marked a setback for Kurdish leaders, who had built a self-governing administration across Syrian Kurdistan in northern and northeastern Syria after battling the Islamic State group during the civil war with backing from a U.S.-led coalition.

In Qamishlo, the largest Kurdish city in the Rojava, entire neighborhoods turned out for the protest. Men, women, children, and elderly residents filled major avenues, waving Kurdish flags and holding photographs of fighters who had been killed in past battles, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

Eighteen-year-old student Barine Hamza told reporters she joined the march to support Kurdish unity. She said she remained deeply suspicious of Damascus.

“We are afraid of being betrayed because we do not trust this government,” Hamza said.

The written terms of the deal maintain an existing ceasefire and call for a phased process of integrating Kurdish forces and administrative bodies into national institutions.

The agreement appeared to address some Kurdish demands, including provisions to establish Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces SDF brigades in areas where Kurds form the majority of the population.

SDF commander General Mazloum Abdi said the pact would begin being carried out on the ground starting Monday. He said both sides would withdraw from frontline positions around the Kurdish-held town of Kobane and from certain zones in northeastern Syria.

Abdi added that a limited Syrian government internal security force would be allowed to enter parts of Hasaka and Qamishlo, but stressed that no regular Syrian military Islamist units would be deployed inside any Kurdish city or town.

Nourshana Mohammed, a 40-year-old housewife who attended the rally, said she came out to defend Kurdish political and security gains.

“The presence of the SDF is important for us. It protects us Kurds and saved us from Islamic State,” she said.

Information Minister Hamza Mustafa told Syrian state media on Friday that the agreement included the transfer of several oil fields, Qamishli airport, and key border crossings to government control within 10 days.

He said individual SDF fighters would be absorbed into newly formed army brigades under central military command rather than being integrated as a single unit.

The United States, which had been the main external backer of the SDF, recently told Kurdish officials that Washington now viewed the original purpose of the alliance as largely completed.

At the protest, 53-year-old housewife Leila Kalash said the SDF remained essential for Kurdish rights and security.

“The SDF protects our rights. We will not abandon the SDF,” she said.

(With files from AFP)