“Stop the attacks”: Kurds in Al-Sulaymaniyah head to Rojava over Syria violence
Shafaq News– Al-Sulaymaniyah
Dozens of Kurds in Al-Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, headed on Tuesday toward northeastern Syria (Rojava), expressing solidarity with their community amid escalating clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and government forces.
Shafaq News correspondent said hundreds of residents gathered in the early morning hours to voice support for Syrian Kurds and denounce what they called armed attacks targeting civilians by gunmen affiliated with Damascus.
Demonstrators called on the international community and influential states to “intervene urgently," describing the violence as part of “a continuing pattern of violations against Kurds,” and “a breach of human rights principles and international conventions guaranteeing the right to live in security and stability.”
Similar demonstrations spread overnight across Al-Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Erbil. In the capital, protesters gathered outside the US Consulate General, calling on Washington to intervene to halt attacks on Kurdish-held areas in Syria.
The protests followed a phone call between Syrian transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump. In a statement, the Syrian presidency said the two leaders stressed the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people “within the framework of the Syrian state,” and agreed to continue cooperation against ISIS to eliminate remaining threats.
اتصال هاتفي بين السيد الرئيس أحمد الشرع والرئيس الأمريكي دونالد ترامب يبحث تطورات الأوضاع في سوريا ويؤكد دعم وحدتها ومكافحة الإرهاب#رئاسة_الجمهورية_العربية_السورية pic.twitter.com/o5tYdHpBVR
— رئاسة الجمهورية العربية السورية (@SyPresidency) January 19, 2026
In northeastern Syria, a Kurdish-majority region, clashes have resumed between Syrian government forces and the SDF, widely regarded as a close ally of Washington, which has called on Kurdish youths to “break the borders of the occupiers” and join the “resistance” in response to “brutal and barbaric” attacks on its areas. The fighting has expanded to detention facilities holding ISIS members, with both sides trading accusations over opening or attempting to seize control of prisons, despite a previous understanding aimed at ending the violence and integrating the SDF into state institutions.
Recent talks between SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and al-Sharaa ended without agreement, according to Shafaq News sources. Reports indicated that Damascus linked any deal to deploying Interior Ministry forces in Hasakah, while Abdi insisted that the city, including its civilian administration, remain under SDF control. Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani has repeatedly urged an immediate halt to the fighting and called for a return to previously signed agreements, describing them as the only viable route to stability.
Read more: Syria’s calm: An end to threat or a start of a complex security phase for Iraq?
