President Masoud Barzani speaks during The 11th Mesopotamian Health Congress in Erbil on February 5, 2026. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - President Masoud Barzani said Thursday that recent fighting in northeast Syria (Rojava) risked spiralling into a broader ethnic conflict, warning that such an outcome would have been catastrophic.
Speaking at the 11th Mesopotamian Health Congress in Erbil, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said his greatest concern during the escalation was that the violence could have turned into a "Kurdish-Arab war, which would have been a massive catastrophe.”
In mid-January, the Syrian Arab Army and allied armed groups advanced into areas held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) across eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka provinces.
The SDF, which serves as the de facto military force in Rojava and key ally of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, had previously liberated these areas, maintaining control to prevent an ISIS resurgence.
On Friday, the SDF and Damascus announced that they had reached an internationally brokered agreement to end hostilities and integrate Rojava’s civil and military institutions, including the Kurdish-led forces, under Syrian state control.
President Masoud Barzani said on Thursday that coordinated efforts helped contain the fighting and avert a wider war. “Thank God, and thanks to all the parties who cooperated, the war did not become a major conflict; it did not become a Kurdish-Arab war,” he said. While acknowledging that “unpleasant things happened,” he argued that far worse outcomes were narrowly avoided.
He further expressed hope that the current agreement between Kurdish forces in Rojava and the Syrian government would hold.
The Syrian offensive in northern and northeastern Syria prompted a significant wave of displacement, with UN figures estimating that around 100,000 people - mostly Kurds - were forced from their homes.
Despite the ceasefire agreement, residents in Kobane told Rudaw that the Kurdish city in northern Syria remains under a strict blockade by Syrian state forces and affiliated militants, with electricity, water, and basic food supplies cut off.
Amid the crisis, the Kurdistan Region-based Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) has facilitated the dispatch of more than 300 trucks carrying thousands of tons of aid donated by individuals in the Region and beyond.
President Masoud Barzani on Thursday highlighted the widespread solidarity shown during the crisis, thanking Kurds across the world for their unity.
He described this collective response as decisive in preventing escalation, calling it “the greatest victory.”
“I hope the unity we saw on a national level becomes a foundation for the future and for any events that may occur from now on. We do not want to think about war, but at the same time, we do not accept the tyranny of oppressors,” he said.
The 11th Mesopotamia Health Congress is being held in Erbil, bringing together local and international doctors from all four parts of Kurdistan and the diaspora. The congress focuses on modern healthcare technologies, major diseases, medical innovations, and the health impact of war and displacement, in cooperation with universities and medical colleges in the Kurdistan Region.
Addressing the attendees, President Masoud Barzani described medical work as “a very sacred task" that saves human lives, and he urged families to prioritize education while preserving the Kurdish language and identity amid ongoing regional turmoil.
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