Leader Barzani rejects attacks on Syrian Arabs in Kurdistan

Shafaq News– Erbil

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Monday denounced media campaigns targeting Syrian Arab citizens living in the Kurdistan Region, following recent clashes in Aleppo between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Online posts against Syrians living in the Kurdistan Region circulated widely, including calls for their expulsion and abusive accusations of “genocide” against Kurds in Syria. Images also spread on social media showing banners displayed in some local markets that barred Arab Syrians from entering certain shops.

In a statement, Barzani described the campaigns as “inappropriate and misplaced,” stressing that they neither reflect the values of the Kurdish people nor align with the policies and general vision of the Region’s institutions. He rejected collective blame, underlining that “a crime committed by one group must not be attributed to others who have no connection to it.”

Barzani emphasized the need to respect Syrian Arab refugees and residents who sought safety in the Region —where government statistics from the Interior Ministry show that more than 250,000 refugees currently reside, many of them in urban areas and designated camps— calling for an end to “illegitimate” actions.

According to Aleppo’s Health Directorate, clashes that erupted last Tuesday in the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods killed at least 24 people and wounded around 129 others. SDF-affiliated media reported that 10 civilians were killed, including four women and two children. The fighting also forced more than 165,000 people to flee their homes.

Commenting on the escalation, Barzani had previously warned that political disputes must not be allowed to endanger civilians or lead to acts such as “ethnic cleansing” against Kurds, calling such actions “a crime against humanity with grave consequences.”

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