Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General spokesperson, responds to a question from Rudaw on November 25, 2025. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations on Monday emphasized that northeast Syria (Rojava) remains a top humanitarian priority, citing “some of the highest concentration of needs” in the country.
A Syrian government border official told Rudaw on Friday that neither Iraq nor Turkey currently plans to open border crossings with Rojava. Mazen Alloush, Director of Public Relations at the General Authority for Land and Sea Border Crossings, said Ankara and Baghdad would only do so after “those areas return to Syrian state administration.”
Asked about the impact of such a shutdown on Rojava, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told Rudaw that the Kurdish enclave “continues to face some of the highest concentration of needs in Syria” and called it “a top priority for humanitarian response.”
He further noted that efforts should go beyond aid to include “enhancing security and economic recovery.”
Meanwhile, Rojava’s de facto military force, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), accused Damascus-affiliated factions of targeting one of their outposts in eastern Deir ez-Zor on Sunday, seriously injuring one of their fighters.
The attack came just a day after the SDF said it returned fire at Damascus-aligned groups in the same area when its positions were also attacked.
For its part, Syria’s defense ministry reported Thursday that two of its soldiers were killed and several injured in what it described as an SDF attack.
Addressing relations between the Kurdish-led forces and Damascus, Dujarric underlined that “the government in Damascus has a responsibility to protect all of its people, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or anything else.”
“We continue to work with the government to help them in that effort,” he added, stressing that agreements between the SDF and Damascus should be “upheld” by all parties involved.
In addition to serving as Rojava’s armed force, the SDF is the main on-the-ground ally of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria. Of note, the Syrian government also joined the coalition earlier this month.
The SDF and Damascus have been engaging in talks for months to finalize a March agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led forces under state control. However the two sides disagree on the method. While the SDF wants integration as a unified bloc, Damascus insists on absorbing fighters individually into regular units.
Namo Abdulla contributed to this article from New York.
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