Kurdistan
Residents of Sulaimani protest in solidarity with Kurds in northeastern Syria (Rojava) on January 20, 2026. Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) warned on Tuesday of growing threats to civilians in Kurdish-led northeastern Syria (Rojava), calling on the international community to intervene to prevent further escalation.
The PUK’s political leadership said in a statement it was alarmed by “the events that have been unfolding over the past few days in Rojava and northern Syria,” while reaffirming solidarity with the Kurdish population in the region “who heroically fought the war against ISIS terrorists on behalf of the entire world.”
“We condemn the silence regarding the threats made against our people, which is unacceptable,” the statement said.
Kurdish forces in Syria reported they were under attack by armed groups allied with the Syrian government on multiple fronts in northeastern Syria, where the Kurds have governed and controlled security for over a decade. The attacks - which led to hundreds of Islamic State (ISIS) prisoners escaping - was causing massive instability in Kurdish-held territory, including former ISIS strongholds where local officials have long warned of an ISIS resurgence.
The PUK urged foreign mediators supporting a March 2025 agreement mandating a ceasefire and bringing the Kurdish-led government and military entities under Damascus to take immediate action.
Signed between Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi, the deal stalled after Damascus rejected an SDF demand to be incorporated as a unit. Damascus has insisted on absorbing SDF fighters individually into regular army units.
“We believe it is the duty of the international community in general, as well as the mediators of the March 10, 2025 Damascus Agreement to immediately take a stand against the escalations and the targeting of civilians,” the PUK statement added.
“They must exert pressure to support the chance for peace instead of war - the consequences of which won’t be in the interest of any party, especially after ISIS [Islamic State] militants escaped and infiltrated prisons,” the statement warned.
Separately, the party's President Bafel Talabani issued a strongly-worded condemnation of the violence in Rojava, describing it as an assault on the Kurdish people.
“What is happening in Syria and Rojava is unacceptable and must stop. We utterly condemn this act of barbarism against the Kurdish people,” Talabani said.
“The Kurdish people will not stay silent and look the other way,” he added.
Highlighting the sacrifices made by Kurdish forces in the fight against ISIS, Talabani said, “Rojava lost thousands of its sons and daughters in the fight against ISIS, defending the world at a tremendous cost. They deserve respect, dignity and real protection.”
He also urged Washington to play a more active role, saying, “I call on the United States and the American people to act with clarity and responsibility to protect civilians and preserve stability.”
Also on Tuesday, hundreds of people in the PUK stronghold of Sulaimani boarded buses bound for northeastern Syria, where local officials called on Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Europe to defend Kurdish-held territory in Syria. Syrian Kurdish leaders have called the attacks an “existential threat” to Kurdish rights and self-rule.
Protests in Sulaimani and other parts of the Kurdistan Region calling for support for the Syrian Kurds continued into the evening Tuesday.
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