In a historic move, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa issued a landmark decree on Friday, declaring Kurdish a “national language” across the republic. Consequently, the government has officially recognized Kurdish national rights for the first time since Syria achieved independence in 1946.
The decree describes Kurds as “an essential and integral part” of the nation. It allows schools to teach the language in regions where the minority community lives. Furthermore, Al-Sharaa designated the Kurdish New Year, Nowruz, as an official holiday for all citizens to celebrate.
The President also granted nationality to Kurds who lost their status during a controversial 1962 census. During a televised address, Al-Sharaa urged Kurds to “actively participate in building this nation,” while vowing to “guarantee” their civil rights.
Political Friction and Regional Clashes
Despite these concessions, political figures remain skeptical of the government’s true intentions, as senior Kurdish figure Salih Muslim told AFP that he viewed the decree as “an attempt to evade the rights of the Kurdish people and to divide them.”
This announcement follows recent military escalations between the Syrian army and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Last week, government troops seized two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. Consequently, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi announced a strategic withdrawal of his forces.
“Based on calls from friendly countries and mediators… we have decided to withdraw our forces tomorrow morning,” Abdi stated on X. The military movements coincided with heavy artillery fire in Deir Hafer, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
Syria houses approximately two million Kurds within its total population of twenty million residents, with most of them reside in the oil-rich northeast., as the Islamist-led government currently seeks to consolidate its authority after the ouster of Bashar Al-Assad.
While the new decree offers symbolic recognition, the reality on the ground remains volatile. Many civilians used back roads and rickety bridges to escape the shelling. “The SDF stopped us from leaving, that’s why we used an agricultural back road,” claimed 60-year-old resident Abu Mohammad.
