Ocalan ready to support dialogue in Syria amid clashes

Shafaq News– Ankara

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkiye, warned that escalating clashes between Syrian government-affiliated forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) risk deepening the conflict in Syria.

In a statement released Sunday, the DEM Party’s Imrali delegation said Ocalan discussed the situation in Syria during a meeting on Imrali Island yesterday, voicing “deep concern” over the clashes and calling the escalation “an attempt to sabotage the Peace and Democratic Society Process.”

Ocalan stressed that all problems in Syria “can and must be resolved solely through dialogue, negotiation, and collective wisdom,” underlining that armed confrontation would only prolong instability. He expressed his readiness “to fulfill his own responsibility” to help move the issue away from conflict, while calling on all actors and parties to “play their constructive roles.”

Since December 2025, Aleppo has seen escalating tensions between Syria's government factions and the SDF that have killed at least 24 people and injured about 129, according to the city’s Health Directorate. Meanwhile, SDF-affiliated media reported 10 civilian deaths in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, including four women and two children, and the displacement of more than 165,000 people.

Read more: March 10 Syria–SDF Pact tested as unwritten timeline nears end-2025