A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #369 - Spotlight - Rojava: Crushing or Adaptation? (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, several 
armed and imperialist groups have been vying for control of Syrian 
territory. The northeast of the country, where the Syrian people have 
waged a democratic, feminist, and ecological revolution, is no 
exception. While some are announcing the end of the revolution in the 
face of government attacks and Western pressure, what is the reality?
The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria by a coalition of 
Islamist opposition forces led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir 
al-Sham (HTS) is being celebrated throughout Syria, particularly within 
the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). In this 
region, encompassing Kurdish Rojava and the Arab territories liberated 
from ISIS, a coalition of Kurdish-Arab forces is attempting to build a 
new Syria capable of hosting a democratic, ecological, feminist, and 
confederal society based on local autonomy. However, as early as 
December 2024, collaboration between the Syrian Arab Nationalist Army 
(SANA) and the new Syrian Transitional Government (STG) was expected to 
be complicated. This was particularly due to the hostility of Turkey and 
its mercenary forces on the ground, grouped under the name Syrian 
National Army (SNA).

Sharing Syria at the expense of its people
Turkey, embroiled in a conflict on its own territory against the Kurdish 
organization PKK[1], is hostile to the SANA and is waging a 
low-intensity war against it through airstrikes and with the help of its 
SNA mercenaries. Despite this, the Turkish state announced to its NATO 
allies that it had "resolved the situation in Syria." Europe sees this 
as an opportunity to send Syrian refugees home, but also as a financial 
opportunity. It has thus sent over EUR600 million in investments to the 
transitional government. This facade of openness will be marred by 
numerous ethnic crimes committed against several minorities in the 
country in March and April 2025.

In addition to Turkey and Europe, other imperialist powers are 
intervening in Syria. Under the pretext of defending minorities, Israel 
has extended its illegal occupation of the territory and has bombed the 
country repeatedly. The United States is also present in Syria as the 
main force in the international coalition against ISIS. Amid all the 
clashing imperialisms, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)[2]have been 
able to forge tactical alliances, particularly with the forces of the 
international coalition. However, the emergence of a new regime in 
Damascus, aligned with the West, is changing the situation. The Syrian 
Democratic Forces (SDF) are no longer the coalition forces' preferred 
ally in the fight against ISIS: a unified Syrian state subservient to 
Turkey is preferable to revolutionaries seeking to liberate the Middle East.

The Kurdish left has clearly understood this paradigm shift. With 
Assad's fall having opened the door to a new redrawing of the Middle 
East's map, the peace attempts between the PKK, an ally of the Syrian 
Arab Nationalist Party (SANP), and Turkey can be interpreted as a way to 
avoid being wronged again. Despite these diplomatic overtures, it is the 
United States that will act decisively. At a conference hosted by France 
in Paris in December 2025, they force their two rival allies, Israel and 
Turkey, to agree on a partition of Syria into zones of influence. Syria 
thus signs a military cooperation agreement with Israel, promising not 
to militarize the south of the country. This gives Turkey free rein to 
eliminate the SANP in the north.

In January 2026, the autonomous districts of Aleppo were targeted by 
intense attacks from militias allied with the transitional government. A 
ceasefire was negotiated, but immediately broken by a government 
offensive. A shift in allegiance by some Arab tribal forces previously 
integrated into the SDF forced them to retreat to the predominantly 
Kurdish regions of Jazira and the Kobani canton.

In this context of a virtual siege, a general mobilization was called. 
The balance of power favored the Syrian regime, which was superior in 
numbers and equipment, and possessed logistical, diplomatic, and air 
support from Turkey. However, it faced the most disciplined military 
force in the country and a population ready to resist to the bitter end. 
A ceasefire, followed by a peace agreement, was signed between the SDF 
and the government, thus ending the autonomy of the AANES and 
integrating the SDF into the regular army as brigades in the cantons 
still under their control.

Is there still a revolution in Rojava? In a way, yes. The revolutionary 
institutions (communes, academies, production cooperatives) have lost 
their autonomy and will have to coexist with an authoritarian and 
centralizing Syrian state.

Every January, the Kurdish left gathers in Paris to demand justice and 
truth for murdered Kurdish activists, and a political solution for 
Kurdistan.

Daniel Maunoury
The Communes Are Not Dead
However, these institutions, which seek to organize grassroots power for 
women and peoples, are not dead, and the SDF, as a self-defense force, 
continues to exist, albeit in a particularly small and vulnerable 
territory, with limited room for maneuver. Furthermore, the successive 
ceasefires are part of the strategy of the democratic confederalist 
movement. Their goal is to build a democratic nation that is not limited 
to northeastern Syria alone. With the civil war exacerbating tensions 
between the peoples of Syria, peace is the only way to conduct political 
work on a national scale. The revolutionary fervor that burned brightly 
in Rojava will be less intense in the coming period, but it has not 
disappeared. A new phase of the political struggle is beginning for our 
comrades in Syria.

Syrian society will be grappling with certain contradictions. One of 
these is the right of return for refugees from various ethnic 
minorities. This right is stipulated in the peace agreement, but it will 
require a fierce struggle. It cannot be achieved without a drastic shift 
in the balance of power, since the refugees come from predominantly 
Kurdish regions occupied by the Syrian National Army (SNA) militias. 
These mercenary troops, paid by Turkey, see themselves as the new rulers 
of these regions and prevent the return of the local population, 
particularly Kurds of fighting age. The other contradiction will be the 
women's revolution, which must be closely monitored. For democratic 
confederalism, women are the vanguard of the new society, and the 
efforts of our comrades will surely lead them to try to extend their 
self-organization to the entire country.

In a context of reactionary power grabs and the possible return of 
refugees with diverse ideologies, this struggle will likely become 
central in Syria in the coming years. The revolution is not dead; it is 
not an abstract idea but is embodied by the people of Rojava. As these 
lines are being written, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Kobani, 
precisely because this city remains a threat to Turkish imperialism. 
While we can remain critical of the tactical choices made by the 
revolutionary forces of Rojava, our role as internationalists remains 
crucial in supporting our comrades in their project of emancipating the 
peoples of the Middle East.

Corentin (UCL International Relations Committee)

Submit

[1]Kurdistan Workers' Party, the main organization of the Kurdish left, 
engaged in an armed conflict against Turkey since 1979.

[2]Armed forces born from an alliance between the Kurdish left and the 
long-standing opposition to Bashar al-Assad, it liberated northeastern 
Syria from ISIS and then defended its autonomous civilian institutions.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Rojava-Ecrasement-ou-adaptation
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en