The Kurds in the Middle East: Navigating a New Era Amidst Syrian Unification Efforts

A New Chapter for Syrian Kurds Amidst Unification Efforts

The Kurdish people, widely recognized as the world's largest stateless ethnic group, are at the center of significant developments in the Middle East. Following 14 years of brutal civil war, the Syrian government recently announced a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as part of a broader strategy to unify the nation.

Under the terms of this pivotal agreement, the Syrian government is set to assume control over territories previously held by the Kurdish armed group. While the ceasefire aimed to de-escalate tensions, reports emerged of continued skirmishes, particularly around an ISIL (ISIS) prison in al-Shadadi, highlighting the volatile nature of the region.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa affirmed that the army would take charge of three key eastern and northeastern provinces – Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, and Hasakah – from the SDF. Government-affiliated forces have already commenced operations around the Kurdish-held city of Hasakah, marking a tangible shift in territorial control. A crucial element of this 14-point agreement involves integrating the SDF into Syria's existing state institutions.

This initiative aligns with President al-Sharaa’s administration’s commitment to reunify Syria after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. In a move signaling a potential new direction, the president issued a decree declaring Kurdish a “national language,” granting official recognition to the minority group. However, some analysts view these events with caution. Omar Abu Layla, a Syrian affairs expert, commented to Al Jazeera that what's unfolding could signify "the end of the SDF" as it was previously known.

What Do We Know About the Kurdish Groups in the Middle East?

To truly understand the implications of these changes, it's essential to delve into the identity and history of the Kurdish people. They are an indigenous ethnic group rooted in the Mesopotamian plains and highlands, a vast region today spanning southeastern Turkiye, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran, and southwestern Armenia. This ancestral homeland is commonly referred to as Kurdistan.

Identity and Demographics

Cultural and Linguistic Richness

The Kurds share a distinct culture and the Kurdish language, a northwestern Iranian language with several regional dialects. Most historians categorize Kurds as an Iranian branch of the Indo-European peoples, reflecting their rich heritage.

Religious Diversity

While the majority of Kurds adhere to Sunni Islam, their communities encompass a broad spectrum of faiths, including Shia Islam, Alevism, Yazidism, Christianity, and other indigenous beliefs.

A Long History of Striving for Self-Determination

The narrative of Kurdish self-determination is marked by centuries of struggle and unfulfilled aspirations. Their ancestral lands were lost in the 1500s during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

A glimmer of hope emerged after World War I with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The 1920 Treaty of Sevres proposed the creation of an autonomous Kurdistan, a significant breakthrough for the burgeoning Kurdish nationalist movement. However, this treaty never materialized. Subsequent renegotiations led to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which entirely abandoned the concept of a self-governing Kurdistan. Since then, numerous attempts by Kurds to establish their own state have been unsuccessful, leading to complex and often challenging relationships with their respective national governments.

The Syrian Kurds' Enduring Struggle and Rise to Prominence

In Syria, Kurds constitute approximately 10 percent of the population, facing decades of repression and marginalization. A notorious 1962 census in Hasakah province stripped around 120,000 Kurds of their Syrian citizenship, rendering generations stateless. Moreover, Arabization policies frequently redistributed Kurdish lands to Arab communities.

When the uprising against al-Assad began in 2011, escalating into a civil war, the Kurds initially remained neutral. However, in 2012, Syrian government forces withdrew from many Kurdish areas, prompting Kurdish groups to establish control.

The Fight Against ISIL

The rise of ISIL (ISIS) in 2013 presented a new challenge and an unexpected opportunity. Kurdish forces, notably the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) – fiercely defended their territories against ISIL attacks. The YPG received backing from the Turkiye-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated as "terrorist" by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union.

The siege of Kobane in 2014, a Syrian Kurdish town on the Turkish border, became a symbol of Kurdish resilience. After months of intense fighting, YPG-led forces, supported by US-led air raids, successfully reclaimed the town in early 2015. This victory paved the way for the formal establishment of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in October 2015 – a broader coalition comprising the YPG, allied Arab, and other factions – dedicated to combating ISIL across northern and eastern Syria.

The SDF achieved critical victories, capturing Raqqa, ISIL's de facto capital in Syria, in October 2017, and subsequently pushing into Deir Az Zor, another major stronghold. By March 2019, the US-trained SDF had liberated Baghouz, marking the final defeat of ISIL's territorial caliphate in Syria.

The Road Ahead for Kurdish Aspirations

The recent integration of the SDF into Syria’s state institutions, coupled with the recognition of Kurdish as a national language, ushers in a complex and uncertain era for the Kurdish people. While it offers a degree of formal acknowledgment, it also potentially curtails their long-held aspirations for greater autonomy. As the region navigates this new landscape, the enduring identity and quest for self-determination among Kurdish groups in the Middle East remain a powerful force, shaping the geopolitical dynamics of the entire region.