Syria: army shells Kurdish enclaves in Aleppo
Civilians fled Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Aleppo on Jan. 7 after the Syrian army declared them "closed military zones" and began shelling the areas. Some 300 homes are reported destroyed in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh, which have long been under the control of the Kurdish Asayish militia force. The Asayish and the interim government's army blamed each other for initiating the clashes. Thousands have fled through "humanitarian crossings" the army has established for residents to evacuate.
But the fighting appears to spreading into the Kurdish heartland. The town of Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo, is also coming under shelling from government forces. The town is held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), main military wing of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration that controls much of the country's east.
With several casualties in both Aleppo and Deir Hafer, the clashes mark the deadliest outbreak of fighting since an agreement last March to merge the SDF and autonomous administration into Syria's new government. The deal has still not been implemented, with both sides at odds over the terms. (Rudaw, Rudaw, France24)
In a grim irony, this comes exactly a decade after the peak of the massive bombardment of Aleppo by the Assad regime.
SDF evacuates Aleppo
While some civilians are returning to their Aleppo homes after last week's fighting between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), others are evacuating as the government appears poised to launch a new offensive east of the city. The clashes, which broke out on Jan. 6 as negotiations stalled over a March deal to integrate the SDF and its institutions into the Syrian state, killed at least 23 people and displaced nearly 150,000. A Jan. 9 ceasefire calmed the violence but did not not end it, and the government now controls key Aleppo neighborhoods that had long been controlled by Kurdish forces. Experts say this likely leaves the SDF in a weakened negotiating position for future talks with Damascus. (TNH)
Syria recognizes Kurdish minority in 'historic' decree
Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a "landmark" decree Jan. 16 guaranteeing cultural, linguistic and citizenship rights to the country's Kurdish population, marking a significant shift in official policy toward the minority group that makes up roughly 105 of Syria's population.
Decree No. 13 declares Syrian Kurds "an integral and original part of the Syrian people" and commits the government to protecting Kurdish cultural identity as "an inseparable component of Syria's unified yet diverse national identity."
The decree addresses decades of discrimination and statelessness that have affected hundreds of thousands of Kurds in Syria.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani addressed the country's Kurdish population in a trilingual message posted on social media. Writing in Arabic, Kurdish and Syriac, al-Shaibani stated that as long as the Syrian Arab Republic exists, Kurds are an inseparable part of it, enjoying all rights and preventing anyone from harming them. (Turkiye Today)