While the world’s attention focused first on Ukraine and then on Israel-Palestine,Turkey took advantage of the situation and launched attacks on the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), aka Rojava last year and continues to do so.

In 2023, Last October, Turkey systematically struck NES’s energy facilities with airstrikes, causing extensive infrastructure and economic damage and worsening the already-fragile humanitarian situation. In December a new  campaign targeted factories producing construction materials, agricultural products and medical facilities. 

Airstrikes continued into January 2024 and on the 21st protesters took the streets in the city of Qamishlo denouncing the Turkish occupation attacks on NE Syria, this coincided with the tenth anniversary of the declaration of autonomy of the cantons of Afrin, Jazira and Kobane, in January 2014.

The Office of Justice and Reform Affairs affiliated with the AANES warned of the repercussions of Turkish attacks. These attacks allow chaos within prisons holding militants of the Islamic State (ISIS), when the SDF are still fighting ISIS in Syria.

The coexistence of different ethnic and religious groups and the striving for equality are the cornerstones of Rojava society. Turkey aims to destroy the living conditions of the civilian population and erode the self-governing region of Rojava that built radical democracy seen as a threat by Erdogan.

You can read about the history of the kurdish people as well as read news from NE Syria here or here, and the 2023 version of the  social contract of the AANES here.

Today, many of the men and women who fought in northern Syria and helped the Kurds in their struggle are in Ukraine. Some of them, such as Irishman Finbar Cafferkey (“Çîya Demhat”), lost their lives here. Their example helps us to realize the importance of solidarity between oppressed peoples.