DAMASCUS, Syria - Rukn al-Din, one of Damascus’ oldest neighborhoods, is home to a significant Kurdish population, often called the neighborhood of the Kurds.

Kurds want to be included in Syria’s political process. 

“Kurds need to and must be in the political process. Syria is a country of different colors and has many components and religions. We must be in the process. We must participate in the ministries, and we must have seats in the parliament,” Walid Baravi, told Rudaw.

In Rukn al-Din, Kurds demand a stronger political representation. 

Sherko Barrazi said he wants Kurdish education. 

“We want to participate effectively in politics. This is our right as Kurds to be in the political process. We want to have schools and universities in the Kurdish language and to have our rights safeguarded. We want to have an independent administration,” he said. 

The 13-year uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime came to a quick end when a coalition of rebels led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a lightning offensive against the Syrian army late last month, culminating their victory with the capture of Damascus as Assad fled to Russia and ending over five decades of Baathist rule.