The Kurds in Syria are fighting Turkey months after the drop of Assad

To reach northeastern Syria, we cross a thoughtful floating bridge over the Tiger River. Our minibus jingles, as it takes us from Iraqi Kurdistan through Syrian oil deposits, where there are crude oil, the line of roads.

This part of Syria is controlled by the Kurds who call it Riva – which means Western Kurdistan. Since 2012, after the outbreak of the Civil War, they have governed it as a self -applauded autonomous region, protected by the Armed Forces, led by Kurdish.

But Bashar al-Assad’s regime never acknowledges him, and despite his fall from power, his future remains insecure.

In addition to more than a decade of the Civil War, the Syrian Kurds have been conflict with their northern neighbor, Turkey – a battle they are still leading.

A decade ago, the Islamic State (IS) group passed through this region, conquering cities and villages with little resistance – until it reached the city of Kobane, to the Turkish border, in September 2014.

Well, the fighters failed to enter the city, but they imposed a brutal siege that lasted for months.

Fractions, led by Kurdish, supported by the US military coalition, violated the siege in early 2015. This January, I join the city’s residents while celebrating the 10th anniversary.

At the entrance to Kobane, women of their 50s, armed with rifles for the AK-47 attack, keep the checkpoints. The women played a decisive role in the fight against IS – many voluntarily in women’s defense units (YPJ).

As we move around the city, the marks of war are still visible, along with posters of young men and women who have lost their lives.

But in the main square, the mood is festive. Young girls and boys dressed in colorful Kurdish outfits dance hand in hand, singing as they celebrate.

However, for the older generation, this is a bitter moment. “Last night, I lit candles for my mossy brother and others killed in Kobane,” says Noroz Ahmad, a 45-year-old mother, four years old. “It’s a joyful day, but also painful. I wish he was here to see him.”

The Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a victory over northeastern Syria in 2019. But freedom from the IS did not bring lasting peace.

Turkey and a coalition of Turkish rebel groups, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), have launched several military operations against SDF -controlled territories since 2016 and have taken over the territory of the territory, which is moving hundreds of kilometers from the border.

Turkey looks at the largest component in SDF – units for human protection (YPG), a sequel to the Kurdistan workers’ party (PKK), which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for decades and has been referred to by Ankara as a terrorist organization. The country wants to push SDF back from its border.

While Assad’s regime collapsed at the end of 2024, a new offensive for shooting in the west of the Euphrates River by SDF was supported by the Turkish SNA.

Now the battles have reached areas near Cobane. The Kurdish commander in the city quietly tells me: “Do not shoot here, we have built tunnels under the city to prepare for another siege.”

In the city, the smell of gasoline fills the air, and the deafening sound of the generators can be heard anywhere. The locals tell me that most of the power plants, the refineries and even the telecommunications antennas have been destroyed by Turkish air strikes over the last two years.

Newruz Ahmad says that “the defeated is in Kobane … We will not allow Turkey and his proxies to occupy our city, we will also defeat them.”

At a restaurant, the moment people realize that we are not a local residents, they surround us. I ask an old man with gray hair and a stick in my hands how old he is. I guess he is about 80, but the answer he bothers me. “I’m 60,” he says.

It is clear that the people here were exhausted by war, witnessing so much death and bloodshed.

And now the threat of another battle is outlined.

Turkish drones and Turkish jets have directed the positions of SDFs and the delivery routes around the city. Even civilians who protest were hit.

At the Regional Hospital, I find one of the wounded-Laa elder, a 28-year-old German peace activist who has voluntarily dealt with a shelter for women in a roar for more than two years.

She shows me a video of an attack on a demonstration she says she was part of January. The footage shows that two shells that fall from the sky and hit a crowd of people dancing.

The protest was held near the Tishry Strategic Dam, where the fighting continues. SDF says six civilians have been killed and dozens more worse.

“The old man next to me was also injured,” she tells me from her bed.

“I lost some blood … But when we entered the ambulance, another drone attack was carried out next to our ambulance,” she adds.

Human Rights Watch has condemned an attack that hit the Kurdish Red Crescent ambulance as a “visible military crime” by the Turkish coalition-SNA.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry told the BBC that “reports that Turkey is involved in attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure do not reflect the truth,” adding that SDF sends civilians to a “conflict area, folk” to use them to use them as “human shields … not to lose control over the aforementioned dam.”

He accused the SDF of using “violence and terror” to pursue “his own separatist program”, violating the cessation of fire and stopping technical teams to gain access to the repair dam.

Syria’s new leader Ahmad al -Sharaa is stuck between a rock and a difficult place.

The temporary president, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al -Sham (HTS) runs the rebel offensive that has taken down Assad – has promised to form an inclusive government in Damascus and he asked all armed factions to put their weapons. Negotiations are reported to be SDF to find a northeast solution.

But the inclusion of Kurdish factions puts Sharaa in a difficult position with one of his main allies, Turkey.

And when Sharaa opened a national dialogue conference on Syria’s future on Tuesday, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration was absent – she said she was not invited.

Speaking to me from a discreet place near an American base in Hasake province in northeastern Syria, SDF Maslum Commander Abdi tells me that he has met Sharaa in Damascus before.

But the two sides have not yet reached an agreement.

“In fact, we are still at war with Turkey and his proxies. Turkish jets and drones continue to bomb us,” he says, adding: “In Damascus, it remains unclear what steps the new government will take. Their statements are positive, but they are Under pressure from Turkey to act against the areas under our control.

“But the United States, France and some Arab nations are pushing them to recognize Kurdish rights,” he says.

For the United States, SDF fighters are the most reliable allies in the fight against IP.

Today, hundreds of US troops remain in the Kurdish controlled areas to oppose are sleeping cells.

But the Kurds are now afraid of President Donald Trump can withdraw these troops, leaving the region vulnerable to any Turkish military operation, and it is possible to resume.

It has been estimated that there are still about 40,000 are family members and up to 10,000 jihadists fighters conducted in SDF -controlled camps and prisons in the northeast, says Gen Abdi.

“If Turkey attacks, we will have no choice but to redirect our strength,” he warns. “This would allow you to attack prisons and release its fighters.”

There is additional uncertainty for women who have been fighting is in the ranks of the All-Feemale YPJ.

The walls in the office of 29-year-old YPJ spokesman Roxana Mohammed are covered with pictures of fellow commanders killed in battle.

“So far we have not seen roles given to women in the new Damascus leadership,” she says. “Why should a woman not be a minister of defense?”

Mohammed says that women have fought for their rights in this region. They actively participate in every aspect of political, social and military life.

“If our rights are not respected, how are we expected to put our hands?” she asks.

So, while some believe that stability in Syria is on the horizon, for the Kurds the future remains unclear. Will they be recognized as partners in New Syria or will they face another existential battle?