The Syrian Democratic Forces’ stance towards HTS is not hard to predict (plus statements from Rojavan and Kurdish organisations)

First published at Medya News.

The dictator has fallen! Incredible scenes of prisoners being released, statues being toppled, people happy in the streets. In the Autonomous region [of North and East Syria] too, people are happy, though more wary of the future. Parts of their cities, their villages are still under brutal Turkish occupation. But also: What will Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) bring? And how will the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) navigate the situation?

Much is unclear, but not the principles of the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), so that helps us a lot in making an educated guess. They have had very clear goals and core tasks from the very beginning of the Autonomous Administration in 2012, at the time defended by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), which now form the backbone of the SDF. In short, they are implementing and defending their project of grassroots democracy.

Everything the YPG and YPJ, and later the SDF has been doing, can be understood through that lens. Everything they will do, will fit those objectives as well. You can clearly see that, when you follow the press statements of the SDF leadership. The reaction of SDF general commander Mazlum Abdi to the fall of the Assad regime, is spot on: “In Syria, we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice, that guarantees the rights of all Syrians.”

They are of course willing to talk to HTS to try to push its leader Jolani to keep his promise of respect for Syria’s ethnic and religious diversity. Kurds are, of course, very cautious, as they have had their share of assorted gangs suppressing them. And don’t forget: The regime areas are Assad-free now, SDF areas have been free for many years, but there are lands under Turkish occupation and the occupation is, like any occupation, brutal. How will HTS deal with the Turkish-backed SNA? How will it deal with the occupation?

Vacuum

The regime still had some presence in SDF areas, more specifically in Deir ez-Zor (Dêrazor), Hasakah (Hesekê) and Qamishli (Qamişlo). They have all surrendered to the SDF. Great scenes in Qamishli, where the important airport is now in SDF hands. In a message on X after capturing Deir ez-Zor, the SDF’s Mazlum Abdi said: “We declare a general amnesty, without exception, in those areas. We count on the role of the people and the tribes to prevent chaos and to protect the region. Our forces are your support.”

Violence has commenced in Manbij, a predominantly Arab region under SDF control since 2016 when they kicked ISIS out. Turkey wants ISIS back in, you could say: The ‘Syrian National Army’ (SNA) may have a different name, but their radicalism and brutality, and being Turkey’s darling, tells you all you need to know. The SNA has launched an offensive against Manbij, and reportedly, the fighting is intensifying.

The SDF was unable to hold on to Shahba (Şehba) in the northwest because the small area was isolated and not directly connected to other SDF territories, and has troops too limited to withstand the SNA. Manbij is another story though: there are plenty of troops, and Manbij is not a pocket but part of the core territory of the SDF. The SDF will do what it can to make sure the SNA doesn’t lay its dirty fingers on the people under their protection.

Aleppo

How different is HTS from the SNA, and why are the SDF and the Autonomous Administration willing to talk to HTS, but not to the SNA? Well, they’d talk to Turkey (read: the SNA) too if Turkey were interested, and Mazlum Abdi has explicitly said he is open to talks, but Turkey never is. Is HTS different? HTS may have distanced itself from jihadists, but actions speak louder than words. In that sense, their willingness to engage with the SDF or not will be telling. That the SDF is still in charge in the Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo could be a good sign, but then again, maybe it isn’t. Maybe HTS was just focusing on Damascus and trying to get goodwill abroad by not instantly getting into fights with others than the regime’s army.

What will possible talks with HTS focus on? On the most fundamental issue of the SDF: democratisation. It was the same with the regime, and it is always the core of any talks the SDF holds. Assad was, surprise, surprise, never interested, so the SDF merely kept the lines of conversation open. Whether they can afford to be as persistent in negotiations with HTS as they were in those with the regime, is uncertain. Assad’s army, as we see clearly now, is weak and fully demoralised, while HTS seems well organised and very dedicated, so the risks are higher.

What is also an unknown, is to what extent Turkey will keep supporting HTS, and how much rivalry there will turn out to be between the SNA and HTS. And will HTS want Turkey to end the occupation of Syrian lands?

The list of questions and unknowns in this chaos may be endless, the SDF is a factor we do know, through both actions and words. May they stand strong.

Fréderike Geerdink is an independent journalist. Follow her on Bluesky (or X) or subscribe to her acclaimed weekly newsletter Expert Kurdistan.

Syrian Democratic Council: ‘The overthrow of Assad marks the start of a brighter future’

Published by Syrian Democratic Council on December 8.

We, as members of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), greet our great Syrian people with joy and pride as we witness a historic moment: the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, a symbol of tyranny.

This significant victory has been achieved through your steadfast commitment to liberty, dignity, and equality, despite long years of oppression and persecution.

Your courageous resistance against an oppressive regime has been marked by immense hardship. The sacrifices of martyrs, the suffering of detainees, and the plight of the displaced people have all contributed to this momentous triumph. Through your unwavering determination, we have overcome fear and injustice.

The SDC extends its heartfelt congratulations to the Syrian people on this significant occasion. It pledges to continue working to establish a democratic and pluralistic state that guarantees equality, justice, and respect for diverse components of the Syrian society.

We believe that this pivotal moment marks the beginning of a new path. Additionally, we all have a crucial opportunity to reconstruct our nation, draft a constitution that embodies the aspirations of our people, and pursue transitional justice to address past injustices.

We will collaborate with all Syrian national, cultural, and societal powers through engaging in the national dialogue and assuming our responsibility to establish a new Syria that is inclusive of all its citizens. These citizens should be embraced regardless of their diverse national, religious, and sectarian backgrounds, without any marginalization. This new era marks the beginning of a brighter future, where the will of the Syrian people will prevail. We will harness the experience gained from past events to create a more equitable society and better future for all Syrians.

Long live a free, united, and democratic Syria!

December 8, 2024
Syrian Democratic Council

Democratic Union Party (PYD): ‘Build a new Syria where freedom, democracy and justice prevail’

Published by the PYD on December 8.

On this historic day, the people of Syria are witnessing the fall of a tyrannical regime that practised all forms of abuse and oppression on all components of Syria, with all its national and religious affiliations, for seven decades. This is the fall of centralised despotism and dictatorship.

We in the General Council of the Democratic Union Party PYD are keen that the days we are witnessing involve a flexible transition of power and that Syrians be able to manage themselves and their own affairs in a new Syria, as the Syrian homeland is our homeland with all its cultures and beliefs. We wish our people to maintain calm and rationality in this transitional phase.

We hope that Syrian forces will act according to the sensitivity of the phase that Syria is going through.

We call on all Syrians to embrace a culture of tolerance, enable the language of dialogue and reject hate speech in order to build a new Syria where freedom, democracy and justice prevail among all its components. In this context, we express our readiness for dialogue and cooperation with all Syrian forces that work for the Syrian homeland, and we express our readiness for dialogue and cooperation with all Syrian forces that work for the sake of the Syrian homeland.

Together towards a new Syria on a new day.

General Council of the Democratic Union Party (PYD)
8 December 2024

Kurdish National Congress: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has laid the groundwork for a democratic Syria

Published by KNK on December 8.

Syria stands at a historic crossroads. The collapse of the dictatorial Ba’ath regime of Bashar al-Assad offers a unique opportunity to redefine the nation’s future. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need to create a new Syria—a Syria that embraces its diverse national, religious, and cultural identities while fostering democracy, justice, and equality for all its peoples.

Since 2012, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) has been laying the groundwork for this vision of a democratic Syria. In this region, women, various ethnic groups and religious communities have united to fight against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) and other jihadist groups and build a self-governing model which gives all of its peoples a voice. Throughout this journey, DAANES has consistently emphasized its commitment to being an integral part of Syria.

This democratic model—shaped through the collective efforts of Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Turkmens, and Circassians, Sunnis, Shi’ites, Alawites, Christians, Druze, Yazidis, and other Syrians—has faced relentless attacks by the Turkish state. Even as Syrians celebrate liberation from the Assad regime, the Turkish state exploits the nation’s instability to target DAANES regions. Turkish aggression, including airstrikes and the mobilization of their jihadist proxy militias, poses a severe threat to the progress achieved by DAANES, to the future of Syria as a whole, and the security of the broader Middle East.

While various parties inside Syria and worldwide are speaking out for a political solution for the war-torn country, the Turkish state has intensified is its war against DAANES because does not want to promote stability or coexistence in Syria. Immediately after the fall of the Syrian Ba’ath regime, the Turkish army, in coordination with its proxy militias, launched an attack together against the multiethnic city of Manbij in northeast Syria.

A truly democratic Syria must uphold women’s rights, a central value of DAANES. Reports of Kurdish women, including members of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), being abducted by Turkish-backed proxies in the Shahba region highlight the urgent need for international action. Many of these women remain missing, while Kurdish civilians continue to face abduction, torture, and enforced disappearances at the hands of Turkish proxy militias. The United Nations must immediately investigate these atrocities.

Our demands

In light of recent developments and the critical situation in Syria, we call on the international community—including the UN, US, and EU—to take decisive action:

1. Halt Turkish Aggression: Take immediate steps to stop Turkish military attacks, including airstrikes and shelling by the Turkish Armed Forces and actions carried out by Turkish-backed proxy militias and stand against Turkish military occupation efforts in Syria.
2. Recognize DAANES: Provide formal recognition to DAANES and ensure that DAANES is included in all political and administrative decisions related to Syria’s future. The Kurds must be included in all debates and discussions about the future of Syria. The challenges facing Syria cannot be addressed without the participation of Syria’s Kurdish community.
3. Provide Humanitarian Aid: Deliver urgent humanitarian assistance in collaboration with DAANES institutions to address the needs of displaced persons.

It is imperative that the global community acts swiftly to support DAANES and protect this model of a democratic, inclusive Syria at this pivotal time.

Executive Council of the KNK
8 December 2024

Kurdistan Democratic Communities Union: ‘The Democratic Nation Model is the Solution for Syria’

Published by KCK on December 9.

As a result of the developments in Syria in the last two weeks, the Baath regime has fallen, and the country has entered a new era. We hope that the new situation will lead to all the peoples of Syria living together freely and equally. For decades, the peoples of Syria have struggled hard for the creation of a democratic Syria and the development of a free, democratic, and equal life in Syria, and they have paid a high price for this cause. We are convinced that the Syrian people have the experience, consciousness, and wisdom to realize what they were aiming for for so many years. We hope that the longing of the Syrian people will be realized.

The collapse of the Baathist regime has once again proved what kind of an end the monist nation-state system will face. The nation-state system invented by capitalist modernity and exported to the Middle East is the main cause of the social problems that have been experienced in the Middle East in the past century, which have deepened and finally reached a dead end. The latest developments in the Middle East have once again clearly demonstrated that the nation-state model, which denies the differences, diversity, and pluralism in society and is based on monism, is the most contrary to human reality and the most harmful model for society. Rêber Apo1 analyzed the reality of the monist nation-state model in depth, revealing the contradiction of this system to the essence of human beings and society. He pointed out that society can no longer tolerate this system and that it will inevitably be overcome. This will pave the way for democratic transformation in the Middle East. The developments in Syria have endorsed this historical analysis of Rêber Apo. Despite all the developments in Syria throughout the last 14 years, the Baath regime failed to assess this reality; instead, it insisted on the monist nation-state system, did not start a democratic transformation, and ultimately has found its end.

As the KCK, we are in a constant effort to overcome the monist nation-state system in Syria and to develop democratic transformation. We have repeatedly conveyed this to the Syrian government. We have stated that the monist nation-state understanding should be abandoned in Syria and that steps should be taken to realize the democratic transformation that the country needs. We have attached great importance to this not being prolonged, for the peoples not to suffer more, and we have made intense efforts for this. The Kurdish people, through their struggle, have also desired the development of a democratic Syria and have developed the grounds for this. It is known that the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) is making efforts for the democratization of Syria. However, the Baath regime insisted on the monist nation-state, as a result of which the crisis in Syria deepened, the solution to the problems was postponed, and the peoples suffered more.

The most fundamental thing that the Syrian peoples long for is the development of a democratic Syria. Within a democratic Syria, all peoples with their different languages, people of all kinds of beliefs, and all the diverse cultures can live together, equally and freely. This is the solution to the problems in Syria. Kurds, Arabs, Druze, Turkmens, Assyrians, Êzidîs (Yazidis), Armenians, Alawites, Sunnis, and all the different peoples in Syria can build a new life on this basis, live together freely and equally, and build a new Syria where everyone’s rights are recognized. The development of this in Syria will have a positive impact on the entire Middle East and contribute greatly to the democratization of the Middle East. The Kurdish people have demonstrated with their struggle that they are the most dynamic force for this. As the KCK, we will continue our stance and struggle for the development of the model of the democratic nation that envisions such a life and is based on pluralism, diversity, and the co-existence of diversity in unity. To underline this fact once again, the alternative to the monist nation-state model, which is the source of all problems, is the model of the democratic nation in which the equal, democratic, and free co-existence of all peoples is ensured.

In this regard, it is also necessary to underline that the freedom of society can only be achieved through the liberation of women. Women’s liberation expresses the essence and meaning of society itself. The new Syria to be created can only be democratic and free through the development of women’s freedom. There can be no compromise, no step back in the struggle for women’s liberation.

The Turkish state is the biggest obstacle in front of the democratic, free Syria that the peoples long for. In order to prevent the development of a democratic and free life in Syria, it has been attacking and occupying Syria for many years. Despite the fall of the Baath regime, the Turkish state has not abandoned this attitude. The Turkish state, just like the Baath regime, has a monist nation-state mentality. What they are trying to achieve through their attacks and aggression is to maintain the understanding of rule and the monist system itself in Syria. The Turkish state does not only aim to genocide the Kurds; it wants to prevent democratic transformation in Syria, to ensure the continuation of the monist nation-state system and the despotic understanding of governance, and to ensure that the peoples of Syria live under genocide. With this intention, the Turkish state has established the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA). It is both attacking Syria itself and carrying out attacks through the SNA. With this approach, the Turkish state threatens the unity and integrity of Syria and threatens the developments in Syria. All Syrian peoples and forces in favor of a new Syria, a united, democratic, and free Syria, must not accept this approach of the Turkish state and must resist the attacks of the Turkish state and the SNA. They must stand with the resistance of the Kurdish people and the peoples of North and East Syria.

We call on the democratic forces of the world to take a stance against the invading, genocidal attacks of the Turkish state, to stand with the resisting Kurdish people and the Syrian peoples, and to develop a strong solidarity attitude.

All the peoples of North and Eastern Syria, especially the Kurdish people, must continue to strengthen their resistance against the attacks of the Turkish state and the SNA acting on behalf of the Turkish state. Our peoples must organize on the basis of the strategy of the Revolutionary People’s War and form their self-defense. By organizing on this basis, the resistance and struggle of the peoples against all kinds of aggression will triumph.

With the struggle it has developed, the Kurdish people have made a great contribution and played a decisive role in overcoming the monist nation-state system and the despotic understanding of governance in the Middle East. If the ground has been laid for the development of a new and democratic Syria, the struggle developed by the Kurdish people has a decisive role in this. It has a share in the emergence of such a development not only in Syria but also in the Middle East. There can be neither a Syria nor a Middle East in which the reality and the rights of the Kurdish people are not recognized. The Kurdish people will have a place in the new Syria and the Middle East.

In this regard, we congratulate all the peoples of Syria. We are convinced that the peoples will create an equal, democratic, and free Syria together. We call on everyone to act on this basis.

Co-Presidency
KCK Executive Council

• 1

  Referring to peoples leader Abdullah Ocalan.