Erbil protest revives Kurdish solidarity

Shafaq News– Erbil

Dozens of Kurds gathered near the ancient citadel in the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil on Friday, waving Kurdistan flags and chanting calls for the protection of Kurds in Syria as Damascus-aligned forces advanced further into northeastern parts of the country.

Demonstrators, largely Syrian Kurds based in the Kurdistan Region, alongside residents, held the banner “Kobani Friday,” reflecting growing concern in the Region over the deteriorating security situation in Kurdish-held areas of Syria. Shafaq News correspondent said demonstrators assembled in the city center, chanting slogans urging international action to protect civilians.

Hundreds of the Region’s residents and activists have been protesting at varying locations since the clashes began in support of Syrian Kurds —outside the United Nations mission, the US Consulate, and in the city center— demanding an immediate halt to military operations.

Kobani holds deep symbolic weight for Kurds in Iraq. When ISIS besieged the Syrian border town in 2014, Iraqi Kurds mobilized in large numbers, and the Kurdistan Region’s parliament approved the deployment of Peshmerga forces to Syria, marking the first such mission beyond Iraq’s borders. The episode became a lasting symbol of cross-border Kurdish solidarity.

More than a decade later, Syrian government forces, backed by allied armed groups, launched operations last week against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces east of Aleppo. Fighting later spread to Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zor, and Hasakah provinces. Although a ceasefire announced on January 18 aimed to curb the violence, clashes have continued, with the United Nations reporting more than 130,000 people displaced.

Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani on Friday said that if circumstances allowed, he would again send Peshmerga forces to support Kurds in Syria.

Read more: Syria’s calm: An end to threat or a start of a complex security phase for Iraq?