German lawmakers urge Chancellor Merz to raise Kurdish rights with Syria’s Sharaa

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to arrive in Berlin next week, a visit that has already sparked mixed reactions among German lawmakers. Several parliamentarians say Chancellor Friedrich Merz should use the meeting to address the situation of Kurds in Syria.

“It will be very important for our chancellor to discuss the situation of Kurds in Aleppo during his meeting with Sharaa,” Kassem Taher Saleh, a lawmaker from Alliance 90/The Greens in Germany’s Bundestag, told Rudaw’s Alla Shaly. “Kurds in Syria are fighting for their rights and identity.”

Saleh strongly criticized Damascus over recent attacks on Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

Sharaa’s visit comes just over a week after intense clashes between Kurdish forces and the Syrian Arab Army. Government troops pushed Kurdish fighters out of the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh in Aleppo, while also launching attacks on positions held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the north.

Following the implementation of a ceasefire in Aleppo, Syria’s military Operations Command on Tuesday declared additional Kurdish-held areas - Deir Hafer, Maskanah, and surrounding districts in eastern Aleppo - “closed military zones.”

These areas, currently under SDF control, have recently been flashpoints for Damascus-aligned factions. Capturing them would allow the Syrian government to open a logistical corridor linking Aleppo to Raqqa province and intensify military pressure on the SDF along the Euphrates River.

Control of eastern Aleppo would be strategically significant, enabling Damascus and its allies to establish a supply route between Aleppo and Raqqa in north-central Syria while increasing pressure on SDF positions along the river.

Serdar Yuksel, a lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), described Sharaa’s visit to Berlin as “very problematic.”

“Many people here do not like him,” Yuksel said. “The chancellor must frankly tell Sharaa that the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, as well as the safety of citizens, must be guaranteed.”

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 82 people were killed in the clashes over control of Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods, including 43 civilians. The Erbil-based Barzani Charity Foundation told Rudaw that around 150,000 people were displaced.

“What happened in Aleppo must not happen again, or they risk losing aid from the West,” Yuksel added.

Cansu Ozdemir, a lawmaker from Germany’s Left Party, called for the cancellation of Sharaa’s visit altogether.

“The red carpet must not be rolled out for Sharaa,” Ozdemir said. “Sharaa has chosen to continue down his old paths with al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front, as demonstrated by the massacres of Kurds, Druze, and Alawites.”

She accused the German government of turning a blind eye to what she described as “these atrocities.”

“This is a scandal against those who fought Daesh,” Ozdemir said, referring to the SDF, which partnered with the international coalition against the extremist group.

Another Left Party lawmaker, Ferat Kuchak, criticized Germany for remaining silent over Damascus’ recent attacks.

“Sharaa is responsible for massacres of Kurds, Yazidis, Alawites, and Christians,” Kuchak said. “The chancellor must stand with the Kurds of Aleppo - not with terrorists.”