Report by Blade Runner~ Photos by Void Network

Between 20,000 and 30,000 Kurds and supporters filled the streets of London on Sunday 25 January 2026 in solidarity with the people of Rojava. Organised by Kurdish diaspora communities and solidarity networks, protesters gathered outside the BBC at Broadcasting House before marching towards Downing Street, calling on Western governments and international institutions to intervene to prevent an unfolding assault on Kurdish autonomy and rights. Passers-by along the route stopped to engage with the march, expressing curiosity and solidarity.

RiseUp4Rojava, Women Defend Rojava and the 183 organisations and 72 individuals who have already endorsed the international call, urged supporters to escalate organising — through coordinated street actions, social media mobilisation, pressure on national governments and international bodies, and demands for political and legal recognition of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).

On the ground, the situation remains highly volatile. In early January 2026, jihadist forces forming the backbone of Syria’s transitional government, backed politically and logistically by Ankara, launched a rapid offensive across territory previously administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the military defence force of Rojava. Government-aligned forces seized cities, oil fields and key infrastructure east of the Euphrates in a matter of days.

In the initial stages of the offensive, several tribal groups that had previously aligned with the SDF switched sides, accelerating the loss of territory, including in major urban centres. Amid the chaos, ISIS-linked detainees from facilities formerly controlled by the SDF were reportedly released before being recaptured by Damascus-aligned forces.

Clashes intensified around Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah, before Damascus and the SDF agreed a fragile ceasefire in mid-January. Under the terms announced, the SDF is to be integrated into Syrian state structures, with control of border crossings, energy infrastructure and Islamic State detention facilities transferred to the central government. The ceasefire was reportedly violated almost immediately, though harsh winter conditions and tactical regrouping by SDF forces appear to have slowed the pace of the assault. 

The truce was brokered by international mediators, particularly the United States and France. Washington is reported to be seeking additional time to organise the transfer of thousands of detained ISIS fighters and their families out of the region.

Kurdish-majority cities are currently under blockade, enforced by Turkish-backed militias, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Islamic State cells. Displacement into remaining Kurdish-held areas is placing further strain on already fragile infrastructure and aid capacity as humanitarian conditions deteriorate rapidly. In the encircled city of Kobane, water and electricity supplies have been cut, forcing displaced families into public buildings without heating or basic services. Local sources report that at least five children have already died due to cold conditions, as tens of thousands of civilians flee ongoing bombardment and insecurity across the region. Borders with Turkey, Iraq and Iran have seen increased crossings by Kurds preparing for what many fear could become a decisive confrontation with Damascus and its allies.

Organisers highlighted upcoming international days of action, including 26 January, marking the anniversary of the 2015 liberation of Kobane from Islamic State, and 31 January, a global mobilisation under the slogan “Women Defend Rojava“, calling on women and democratic forces to defend what supporters describe as Rojava’s women-led social revolution.

Solidarity actions have been taking place internationally, including protests across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, Spain and South America, as Kurdish communities and allied organisations seek to apply pressure on governments in an effort to avert what many fear could become a genocidal assault on north-east Syria. International networks have also coordinated several convoys from Europe, with additional groups reportedly travelling from Iraq, Iran and Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid or join the defence of the region.

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The article published also simoultanously at Freedom News:

https://freedomnews.org.uk/2026/01/26/thousands-march-for-rojava-in-london/

The post Thousands march for Rojava in London – 25.01.26 appeared first on Void Network.

written by Blade Runner 

Various parts of the article have been published before in Freedom News.

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The battle for Tishrin Dam in Syria

For almost two months, Tishrin Dam, a vital infrastructure for water and electricity in northeastern Syria, has been subjected to continuous drone and warplane attacks. The likelihood of a catastrophic failure grows each day, and if the dam collapses, it could release approximately 2 billion cubic meters of floodwater, causing widespread destruction to villages, farmland, and lives downstream. Beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, this would significantly threaten Rojava’s revolutionary project.

On January 8, thousands gathered to create a human shield in defence of the dam. Ongoing drone strikes have already resulted in 25 deaths and numerous injuries, including journalists. Despite the relentless attacks, vigils persist as convoys of supporters have been arriving from various parts of northern Syria. The damaged yet still-standing dam has become a powerful symbol of Rojava’s resistance, inspiring solidarity actions worldwide.

Tishrin Dam is not only a crucial source of water and electricity but also a strategic gateway between contested territories. To the east, it links areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are resisting attacks by the Turkish-backed former ISIS group, the Syrian National Army (SNA)—a militia infamous for looting, robbery, and kidnappings. Supported by Turkish artillery, drones, and fighter jets, the SNA’s offensive on the dam is part of a larger strategy: the assault on Kobani, a key centre of Rojava’s resistance against the Islamic State (ISIS). This renewed aggression seeks to dismantle the autonomous Kurdish-led region.

In recent developments, the Turkish-backed offensive has escalated—a pumping station has been damaged, leaving over 200,000 people without drinking water. This follows weeks of shelling of villages in the countryside area south of Kobani, as the aggressors continue to spread terror in an effort to break the resistance.

Brief history of Rojava’s radical self-governance experiment

The Arab Spring of 2011 was part of a larger global wave of uprisings, beginning with the Zapatista movement in the 1990s, and sparked mass protests across the Arab world. In Syria, governed since 1963 by the Ba’ath party, a political movement blending secular Arab nationalism and Arab socialism that evolved into a family loyalist dictatorship, the initial uprising quickly escalated into a full-scale revolution and civil war. In the northeast, the Kurdish population seized the opportunity to launch their own autonomy project in the Rojava region.

The Kurds are a stateless nation, numbering around 30-45 million people today, and have lived since the Neolithic era scattered across regions currently controlled by Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. With a long history of struggles for independence and social justice, the Kurdish movement in Rojava (the Syrian part of Kurdistan) formed an alliance with Arabs, Assyrians, and Turkmen, creating the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria (DAANES).

This marked the onset of the Rojava social revolution, a movement aligned with the revolutionary ideology of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned founder and ideological leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdish political organisation that has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy within Turkey. Öcalan, during his imprisonment in Turkey shifted away from Marxist-Leninist nationalism to a form of libertarian socialism known as democratic confederalism.

Rojava’s project is grounded in decentralisation, gender equality, and direct democracy. These principles have led many to idealise Rojava as an anarchist or anti-capitalist utopia. However, it remains a complex endeavour: while it rejects the centralised state model, it retains certain government structures, such as prisons, and continues to engage in trade and monetary exchange. In Rojava, there are some of the most fertile lands in Syria as well as significant oil fields, the exploitation of which has been one of the main sources of revenue.

The military forces defending Rojava include the Kurdish liberation militias of the People’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Jin, YPJ). These were the primary forces that halted the advance of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) early in the Syrian civil war, safeguarding an autonomous Rojava and allowing the revolutionary experience of democratic confederalism to develop.

YPG and YPJ led the formation of the SDF, a coalition of military and political organisations of which they are the largest. The SDF have increasingly relied on military and political support from the US, entering into realpolitik compromises that have limited the spread and development of the Rojava revolution and its potential for global revolutionary solidarity.

The Kurdish movement remains in tension between the historically entrenched authoritarian Marxist currents that constitute the old guard of the PKK and the anti-authoritarian current developed by Öcalan, as well as the women’s organisations, local communes, and much of the younger generation. Nonetheless, SDF-controlled areas remain by far the safest for women, ethnic minorities like the Yazidi, and atheists and religious minorities.

In Syrian Kurdistan the people were prepared and knew what they wanted. They believed that the revolution must start from the bottom of society and not from the top. It must be a social, cultural and educational as well as political revolution. It must be against the state, power and authority. It must be people in the communities who have the final decision-making responsibilities. These are the four principles of the Movement of the Democracy Society.¹

Radical leftists and anarchists who have travelled to Rojava—whether to fight alongside the local forces or to volunteer in communities—view it as a significant experiment in self-organisation. People from diverse backgrounds, including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Muslims, Christians, and Yazidis, have worked together in solidarity. The region is structured through a federation of towns and cantons, where local communes, councils, and committees manage governance at all levels.

Rojava’s revolution has significantly transformed society. Women hold leadership positions in governance, the military, and civil institutions. Ethnic and religious minorities enjoy greater protections and representation than in surrounding states. While challenges and contradictions persist, Rojava’s model stands as an alternative to the authoritarianism, sectarianism, and capitalism prevalent in the region.

How the Middle East crisis entered its new phase and the re-ignition of the Syrian war

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise offensive against Israel. Despite millions invested in surveillance technology, settlement expansion, and the construction of a massive separation wall, the Israeli state was caught off guard. In response, Israel has waged over a year of genocidal warfare against the people of Gaza while escalating a US-backed proxy war against Iranian-aligned forces, to secure regional dominance.

Both Israel and Iran have framed their aggression in nationalist and religious terms, justifying military operations as necessary for national security and ideological preservation. Israeli leadership has openly declared its intention to reshape the Middle East by neutralising regional adversaries while advancing a doctrine of Jewish supremacy. Meanwhile, Iran presents the conflict as a “holy war against the forces of evil,” using it to consolidate regional influence with support from China and Russia.

In December 2024, the Syrian civil war, which had been in a period of relative stasis, reignited when a coalition of jihadist rebel groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebranded offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Syria, launched a surprise offensive in northwest Syria. The insurgents advanced rapidly, facing zero resistance and seizing major cities such as Aleppo and Hama within two weeks before capturing Damascus. Initially, the fall of the Assad regime sparked cautious optimism among Syria’s diverse communities, but this quickly turned to fear as HTS imposed fundamentalist rule.

In response to this renewed jihadist offensive, the DAANES declared a state of “total mobilisation.” The SDF have faced coordinated attacks on power stations and vital infrastructure, prompting calls for unity among Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, and Circassians to defend their communities against both ISIS-aligned groups and Turkish military incursions.

In the meantime, Israel’s own military operations diverted Iran and Hezbollah’s focus, and together with Russia’s preoccupation with its war in Ukraine, created a power vacuum in Syria, which Turkish-backed forces have exploited. The timing of Turkey’s military offensive appeared strategic, aligning with the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency and shifting geopolitical priorities. With Iran and Russia facing their own challenges and uncertainty surrounding US policy under the new administration, Turkey positioned itself as a key beneficiary of the region’s shifting power balance.

The diplomatic chessboard and Neo-Ottoman idealism

In this context, Israel’s ongoing destruction of Gaza and its expanded operations in Syria further demonstrate the alignment of regional power plays. Israel, backed by the US and UK, has used the crisis to bomb Syrian military infrastructure, ensuring that the new Syrian regime does not re-emerge as a regional threat. Netanyahu’s declaration that “The Golan Heights will remain forever under Israeli sovereignty” reflected Israel’s broader strategy—securing military and intelligence advantages while cutting off Hezbollah’s critical supply routes between Lebanon and Syria.

The future of Syria has been contested. HTS is putting forward a centralised authoritarian regime similar to Assad’s Ba’athist rule. In contrast, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the SDF, advocates for a federal democratic model based on decentralised governance and democratic confederalism. The SDC’s vision includes local autonomy for Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Druze, and other communities, fostering cooperation rather than sectarian rule. 

The US administration faces a complex diplomatic challenge. It must continue supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their fight against ISIS while simultaneously appeasing NATO ally Turkey, which has the second-largest military force in the alliance. Israel and France are pressing for the former scenario, while Erdogan wants the US troops to leave so that he can freely strike Rojava. A 2,000-strong US force remains stationed in Kobani, maintaining a red line that deters Turkey from launching a full-scale invasion. The SDF also retains its own leverage—holding tens of thousands of ISIS fighters and their families in the Al-Hol refugee camp and serving as the only force capable of containing ISIS’s resurgence. 

Erdogan was threatening an imminent invasion while waiting for the Trump inauguration. A full-scale invasion did not happen, and the SDF forces have been successful in repelling the SNA attacks on the ground. However, the Kurds’ grave concern is based on the previous experience of Turkey’s invasion in Afrin in 2019, and the Erdogan regime’s Neo-Ottoman ambitions, with officials asserting that cities like Aleppo are “Turkish” and signalling broader territorial aspirations. While the US has threatened sanctions in response to potential Turkish aggression, past patterns suggest that Erdogan could proceed regardless, especially in the scenario of US troops’ withdrawal, escalating to one of the most brutal conflicts in the region since the height of ISIS’s rule.

Initially, Israel, Russia, and Saudi Arabia all had a strong interest in preventing the spread of HTS or the installation of a Turkish-backed government in Damascus. However, the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the rise of HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa as de facto and self-proclaimed president have altered regional dynamics. Saudi Arabia, which previously balanced clandestine support for various factions, is now engaging directly with Syria’s new leadership, signalling a shift toward stabilisation rather than proxy support. 

Meanwhile, Turkey remains deeply involved in shaping Syria’s future, continuing its backing of the SNA and working diplomatically with al-Sharaa’s government. The role of Israel remains ambiguous, but the likelihood of increased support for the Kurdish-dominated SDF from both Saudi Arabia and Israel remains, especially as the SDF seeks a decentralised and secular post-Assad Syria. Russia, however, faces challenges in navigating this new order, as open support for the SDF would provoke Iran and complicate its relations with Turkey.

With Assad’s removal two months ago, Syria’s conflict entered a new phase and a clear resolution appears to be distant. The country is divided along the lines of the SNA (Turkish-backed mercenaries and Sunni fundamentalists) and the SDF (multiethnic democratic forces with U.S. and possible Saudi and Israeli backing). Given that the U.S. and Turkey remain NATO allies, an open proxy war remains unlikely. Instead, Syria could face a long-term partition between these two factions, with the new regime attempting to navigate a fragile balance between Turkish, Saudi, and Western interests. 

The pressure on the Kurdish-led forces to abandon their revolutionary aspirations will only grow in this environment, reinforcing the lesson that global movements have to unavoidably contend with the tension between capitalist state democracy and radical change.

Negotiations between Damascus and SDF continues but it’s clear that any agreement is out of reach. With Trump in the White House and his calls for US forces to withdraw, Rojava’s autonomy is very uncertain. Other minorities in Syria are slowly being bent under the authority of the new centralised rule, as international states support and assist the new government to establish its power. Any revolutionary dreams of democratisation and federalisation of Syria fade away, as the new administration gets integrated into the ranks of capitalist nation-states.

The imperialist influence that Russia and Iran had over the Assad regime is being exchanged for the imperialist influence of Turkish Neo-Ottoman dreams, with support from Turkey’s NATO partners, which are western countries. The Islamic fundamentalist politics of the self-proclaimed president of Syria are now kept hidden, waiting to consolidate the power grip before starting any moves that could scare their newly acquired western partners. The promises of protection for ethnic minorities and women’s rights probably will only last until economic sanctions are lifted, but after that, nothing will remain between the new centralised state and any resistance against their authoritarian measures.

The revolution of Rojava is funnelled into a very difficult position, forced to accept the integration of SDF into a new Syrian state under the rule of an islamist force, or the annihilation under the bombs of the Turkish army. But after more than a decade of revolutionary developments in Syria, and more than four decades of efforts and struggle of the Kurdish Liberation Movement, a historic announcement by Abdullah Öcalan is expected on the 26th anniversary of his imprisonment. In the background, there have been diplomatic efforts to resolve the decades long Turkey-PKK conflict. A proposal for Öcalan’s release and a $14 billion development plan for Kurdish regions have been widely promoted in Turkey, in exchange for PKK disarmament. However, trust issues persist, especially with ongoing Turkish military strikes against PKK positions in Iraq and as Turkey views the U.S.-allied SDF as a PKK extension. 

The Kurds have historically faced oppression from all states within whose borders they have lived. Unlike other minorities such as Armenian and Assyrian Christians, which the Assad regime allowed to preserve their languages, Kurds were forced to run schools in Arabic. PKK has been designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, the EU, and NATO allies. This includes the UK, which raided the Kurdish Community Centre in North London on November the 27th, the 46th anniversary of the PKK’s founding.

Turkey’s expansionism targeting the Kurds and other minorities echoes the atrocities of Ottoman-era ethnic cleansing. The Armenian genocide was carried out by the Ottoman Empire primarily between 1915 and 1916, and resulted in the systematic extermination of up to 1.5 million Armenians. The mass killings were carried out through death marches into the Syrian desert, resulting in widespread starvation, disease, executions, and the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage. This played a key role in the ethnic and demographic changes that facilitated the emergence of modern Turkey in 1923.

In the autumn of 2023, following Azerbaijan’s military offensive supported by the Turkish government, nearly 120,000 Armenians were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, exacerbating the region’s long-standing ethnic conflicts. Entire communities were displaced and Armenian cultural heritage sites were destroyed, while the international community turned a blind eye. Netanyahu’s government in Israel was no doubt paying attention, and Erdogan must also be tempted to “cleanse” Rojava of Kurds if he believes the entire world will empower him to do so.

Brief update on the situation in the Palestinian territories

The situation in Gaza and the West Bank remains highly volatile, marked by significant political developments and ongoing military actions. 

In early February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a controversial plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip, suggesting the relocation of its Palestinian inhabitants to neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan. He described Gaza as a “demolition site” and envisioned transforming it into a luxurious destination, akin to the “Riviera of the Middle East.” 

This proposal has been rejected by the Palestine leaders and was met with widespread condemnation from international organisations and various governments, with Amnesty International labelling the plan “appalling and unlawful”. In the West Bank, Israeli military operations have intensified, resulting in casualties among Palestinians. 

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, as international organisations continue to call for immediate ceasefires and the provision of essential aid to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

A war waged on the bodies of the weak and the marginalised

The proxy wars devastating the Middle East are driven by patriarchal and nationalist power struggles that prioritise capital and domination over freedom, diversity, and communal life. These conflicts have systematically erased historical memory, destroyed communities, and deepened cycles of division and hopelessness.

Nations and cultures predating modern state borders—such as the Armenians, Palestinians, and Kurds—have been repeatedly targeted for elimination when asserting their right to autonomy. Women, children, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and ethnic and religious minorities are treated as expendable, facing extreme violence and exploitation. The global system, dominated by hegemonic states, presents the marginalised with two options: assimilation or destruction.

In just one year, the devastation in Palestine has been staggering: since Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis, Israel’s military onslaught has retaliated thirty-fold, with over 41,000 Palestinians killed, including 13,000 children and 115 infants born after October 7. More than 10,000 Gazans remain missing, buried under rubble. The entire population of Gaza—2.3 million people in an area smaller than 360 square kilometres—has been displaced, forced into extreme deprivation, and denied access to basic healthcare, food, and services.

83,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza, four times the explosive power used to obliterate Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Around 80% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed. It has systematically obliterated all universities, more than 70% of schools, 34 out of 36 hospitals, and countless other essential facilities: 165 health units, 137 ambulances, 611 mosques, all three churches, and 178 shelters in Gaza.

In Lebanon, over 2,000 people have died, and one million have been displaced. Another 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank. Israel has lost an additional 350 soldiers in Gaza, and 200,000 Israelis have been forced to abandon their homes near Gaza and along the northern borders with Lebanon. Hezbollah rocket fire has killed around 50 Israeli soldiers and civilians.

In Syria, According to the Jineolojî Academy thousands of women and children have been raped since the civil war began, with at least 353,900 people killed since 2018. Another 56,900 are missing or presumed dead. Women and children make up 40% of the victims. Many Syrian women fleeing to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have been forced into prostitution or sold into marriage under economic desperation. Non-binary and gender-nonconforming individuals face systematic violence due to rigid gender norms and the absence of legal protections.

Call for international solidarity

The developments in Syria highlight the broader consequences of US-led proxy wars, such as Israel’s campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The current Middle East crisis unfolds within a global power shift, where key actors compete for influence amid economic strain, climate collapse, and growing instability. Warfare, which has been a persistent feature of the 21st century, has accelerated into a higher gear.

As financial crises and social unrest intensified in the last decades, ruling elites capitalised on rapid technological advancements and the lingering fear cultivated by the “War on Terror” to expand military budgets, surveillance, and repression. These resources were not deployed to ensure peace but to fuel ongoing conflicts, reinforcing a global restructuring process driven by militarisation and state violence.

In the meantime, the “Rojava Experiment” has reinvigorated the Kurdish movement across Kurdistan and in the exile communities of Europe, as well as inspired anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist movements across the world.

The fighting people of Northeastern Syria are calling on allies worldwide to rise in solidarity. Their revolutionary project stands for autonomy, direct-democracy, feminism, and social ecology, challenging authoritarian regimes across the region. As drone strikes intensify and an invasion looms, grassroots action and international solidarity may prove to be crucial to deter another state-led ethnic cleansing in this tormented region.

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READ ALSO

1. Zaher Baher, The experiment of West Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan) has proved that people can make changes (August 26, 2014, libcom.org) ︎

The post Rojava in the shadows of war and ethnic cleansing appeared first on Void Network.

Jineology – (Kurdish: Jineolojî) is a form of feminism and of gender equality advocated by Abdullah Öcalan, the representative leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the broader Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) umbrella. From the background of honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women in Middle East societies, Öcalan said that “a country can’t be free unless the women are free”, and that the level of women’s freedom determines the level of freedom in society at large. Jineology is a component of democratic confederalism, a philosophy underpinning the governance of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (also known as Rojava) and Women’s Protection Units – YPJ.

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The hostility of Turkey and its gangs against women reveals the two-line war in Syria. People’s leader Abdullah Ocalan, predicted for the 21st century: “Either Socialism or Barbarism”. We can interpret this as “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom) or “Men, State, Violence”.

Hegemonic forces have used the ongoing third world war, whose center is the Middle East, to put a new plan into action in Syria as of November 27. According to information from local sources, since the summer, the gangs that have been holding training camps in Idlib and Rehyanli, have put forth a new version of their training course: “train and equip” and then have been releasing their trainees into the field in Syria.

The events that are taking place in the last days of 2024 at a mind-boggling speed indicate how the year 2025 will pass. Of course, within this plan, every hegemonic power has a new plan of its own. Are the democratic forces in Syria and the Middle East capable of protecting their people, women, cultures, nature and the future against these plans however the situation plays out? We will answer this question in due time, but now let’s look at the aspirations of the hegemonic powers who try to conquer not only our land, but also our hearts and minds.

Whose war is this?

Who is the brain behind this army of men, who we women know well. Who sets them in motion, and what do they want? The patriarchal hegemonic states that everyone knows and speaks of by name today, a hundred years after the first world war, are once again trying to divide the Middle East. This war began in 2011 with the start of the Syrian Civil War. The level of conflict and the methods of war have changed as a result of proxy wars and the paramilitary forces sent to fight in them.

Each time they failed, they changed their name and clothes

From the day the war started until now, the crimes of ISIS, who were crafted by imperialist countries and brought to the region, were committed before the eyes of the whole world. Al Qaeda evolved into Al Nusra and subsequently Hayet Tahrir Al Sham (HTŞ) and ISIS. After their defeat by the YPJ/YPG, the remnants of ISIS and HTS surrendered to their partner Turkey, and united with gangs of the same mentality. Each time they failed, they changed their names and clothes. The Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is affiliated with Turkey, was ‘trained and equipped’ by the hegemonic forces, and then sent to the region, under its other name, the Syrian National Army (SNA). It contains about thirty different gangs.

It is on women’s bodies that this war is waged

Wherever these gangs invaded, they waged war on women’s bodies and attempted to conquer the area. In this country where the war is still ongoing, it is impossible to report crimes against women with data or statistics. The United Nations stated in a report published in 2018 that thousands of women and children have been raped during the war. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed in a report that since March 2018, 106,000 civilians, and 353,900 people total have lost their lives. The 56,900 people who are missing and presumed dead are not included in this number.
According to this agency, the deaths of about 100,000 people have not been documented. It is estimated that 40 percent of the dead are women and children. Half of Syrian refugees are also women. It is known that refugee women in the countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are forced into prostitution and sold into marriage for money.

They became messengers of death, women became guardians of life

In every city, district, town and village where these gangs invaded, they left behind beheaded people; women who were seen as loot, and who faced rape. They devastated nature. They looted houses and not one person told them to stop. Only the Kurdish forces fought and stopped them. From this grew the resistance of all population groups and women against these gangs. This was the attitude of all the men and women against those gangs. With the power of the intellect and action of the democratic, ecological and women’s liberation paradigm of the people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan, with the 40-year resistance culture of the PKK, with the 30-year line of the women’s freedom movement behind them, the Kurds were ready to face these forces head on. At the same time, with their achievements in every front where they fought, they spread the word that the Middle East has no need for dark forces.

While these gangs and their sponsors brought death and massacres to every place they reached, the women’s liberation movement brought life and freedom to every place it reached. The philosophy of life was crowned with the Rojava Revolution and by the Women’s Revolution of Rojava was defined. Step by step it grew, from equal representation, to co-leadership, from self-defense to the participation in the Autonomous Administration, becoming a model for the women of the world.

In the Syrian civil war, the people of Rojava chose neither foreign powers nor the anti-democratic Syrian regime. They opted for the third path based on the paradigm of ‘Democratic Autonomy’ and ‘Democratic Nation’, which was developed by the imprisoned leader of our movement Abdullah Öcalan, and started the Rojava Revolution in 2012. Step by step, they expelled the forces of the Syrian regime from their cities, and declared self-administrated cantons. Self-defense and self-government systems were created. The women’s self-defense force, the Women’s Defense Forces (YPJ), announced its formation on April 4, 2013. The Rojava Revolution became an alternative model in the Middle East and always it continued to develop. With this resistance and the knowledge of equal representation and self-defense, Rojava became an example of living together and thus took on the historical responsibility associated with this visibility as the whole world looked on. It made a great impact on the people and especially on women. The butterfly of freedom flew from Rojava, left its seal in the 21st century with the magical formula of ‘Jin Jiyan Azadi’ in East Kurdistan, causing this slogan to become universal. This magic, on the path of women’s freedom, carried the meaning and symbol that the 21st century would become the century of women. From Indonesia to India, from Kenya to Catalonia and Abya Yala (Latin America), this became the method and slogan of the people’s struggle against colonialism.

‘Gang export’ against the Rojava model

In opposition to the Rojava model that has become a line in the Middle East; the religious fanatic, nationalist, sexist ideologies of capitalist modernity have been set in motion. The Turkish state emerged on its own initiative as a representative of this ideology. It brought in gangs from both inside and outside to implement misogynist, political Islamist and racist-fascist policies on Syrian soil. The export of these gangs is not only limited to Syria, it has exported gangs to Libya, Sudan, Somalia and many other parts of the world. Its goal was to spread its policies that are nothing but hostile to women and to the people of the world. Since it is not our topic, we won’t go into it too much, but those who are interested can research where in Africa the gangs of the Turkish state are stationed and how they commit crimes against the people. Everyone knows that one of the biggest financiers and supporters of the Syrian Civil War is the Turkish state. The oil and economic relations to jihadist gangs have come to light as well as the ideological ties with these gangs are detailed in many documents of international organizations.

Al Nusra, defeated by YPJ, returned under the name of HTS

In these days, with the process that started with the occupation of Aleppo, many parties including the European countries saw HTS, which is the current name of Al Qaeda and Al Nusra, as the ‘soft’ candidate of the Syrian government. The very first attacks of this organization were carried out in Serêkaniyê against Rojava, and were defeated by the self-defense forces, which included YPJ. ISIS emerged and was unleashed into Syria, and with the help of imperialist states and regional hegemonic forces. In October 2014 they attacked the canton of Rojava, Kobanê. YPJ organized as a self-defense force and took its place in the war to defend Kobane. When Kobanê was liberated, the first flag that was raised was that of YPJ. YPJ, which includes thousands of women organized for self-defense, fought against ISIS in Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor and played a major role in liberating those cities.

In Afrin the line of women’s freedom has been targeted

On January 20, 2018, the Turkish state attacked the canton of Afrin with the approval of the hegemonic powers. The Turkish state’s relationship with the paramilitary forces it used in Syria was revealed with the attack on Afrin. About 25 ISIS gangs were also involved in the attacks, under the name Free Syrian Army. The whole world watched this brutal state attack against a small city. Afrin was occupied by the Turkish state and its gangs on March 18. Just as it is everywhere else, so was it in Afrin: the first targets of the invaders were women. The footage of the torture that was carried out on the body of YPJ fighter Barîn Kobanê was released by the Turkish state and its affiliated gangs. From this footage it was clear how great the rage and hatred of the Turkish state and its affiliated gangs is against women. An unknown number of girls were abducted in Afrin. Women were raped. The incidents against women grow with every day that passes.

Human Rights Organization Efrin stated that 30 percent of attacks in the city are against women and reported that many of them are girls. The report states that 500 women were murdered in different ways, 60 women were sexually assaulted. According to the report; The fate of thousands of women who were abducted by the “military police” belonging to the Turkish state is not known, some of those women were released in exchange for a ransom. After the city was occupied, 500,000 people, half of whom were women, left the city because they knew how brutal the gangs were, and continued their lives in the Shehba-Til Rifat refugee camps. In particular, the members of Sultan Murat’s Gang committed many brutal acts against Kurdish women in Afrin. In the city where demographics were changed, women and Kurds did not remain. Thousands of women faced rape, women cannot go out without men’s permission and the crimes of the gangs have been expanding.

Hevrin Khalef’s killers are in Aleppo

On October 9, 2019, the Turkish state and ISIS-affiliated gangs, including the Syrian National Army (SNA), launched an invasion offensive against the Rojava cities of Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî. The Turkish state and its gangs have committed war crimes against hundreds of women. Let’s bring some of them to mind. The initial target of the invaders were again women. On October 12, the co-chair of the Syrian Future Party, Hevrin Khalef, was ambushed in her vehicle and murdered on the M4 road. Gangs published their crime on digital media accounts. In the UN reports, it was shown that Hevrin Khalef was murdered by the Ahrar Sharkiye gang. This gang, belonging to the Turkish state, has joined the war in Aleppo today.

On October 26, the body of YPJ fighter Amara Rênas was tortured and this was filmed on camera by mercenary gangs affiliated with the Turkish state. The groups that carried out and recorded this torture shared it on digital media accounts. According to the data received by the Human Rights Organization of Cizre Region; many women were abducted from village in the Girê Spî region. Also, black veils were imposed on women. In Serekaniyê, where people from different ethnic and religious groups lived together peacefully before the occupation, 5 Chechen, 50 Arab and 120 Kurdish women were abducted by the gangs of the Turkish occupying state between 2019 and 2022, according to reports by human rights organisations.

Those who feast with wolves weep with shepherds

In Syria, where human lives are reduced to commodities and traded for profit without regard for humanity, certain forces—who have been active participants in causing the war—periodically publish reports under the guise of human rights, presenting the balance sheet of the conflict. These same powers, embodying the proverb “Those who feast with the wolves, and weep with the shepherds,” reveal their hypocrisy by issuing reports that expose how this geography has been turned into a living hell.

The head of the UN Syrian Investigation Commission, Paulo Serêgio Pinheiro, in an interview he gave in 2023, admitted that the Turkish state and its affiliated gangs targeted the Kurdish areas and said: “In Afrin, Serekani and its surroundings, the Syrian National Army belonging to the Turkish state takes people hostage, commits atrocities, and commits war crimes such as torture and rape against the people. Many people were killed in air and ground attacks. Moreover, in Kurdish areas, looting, encroachment on people’s homes, and displacement of people continue unabated. All societies in these places and existing cultures are under attack. UNESCO heritage sites were looted and destroyed with bulldozers.”

In this region, they cannot easily do whatever they like

It should be clearly stated that the chronological statistical data we have given above is the tip of the iceberg to show who is fighting against whom in Syria today. Despite all the attacks of occupation, displacements, demographic changes, rapes, murders, kidnapping and imprisonment of women; the Rojava revolution has remained on its feet. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has proven that the trinity of man-state-violence in the Middle East, is not our fate. As a part of this line of resistance, undoubtedly the struggle that is going on in the mountains of Kurdistan has a great connection with the line of peoples’ and women’s self-defense. The Turkish state and its backing forces had to realise once again that they cannot do everything they want so easily in this region, especially in Kurdistan.

October 7 and legitimizing violence

Exactly at this point, all fascist patriarchal state forces around the world are in the process of waging a new war to divide the region with unlimited violence of the dominant male mentality. Through the hands of the Turkish state, the guardian of hegemony in the Middle East, they are once again trying to keep this geography engulfed in violence. In fact, the spark that ignited this process was the Hamas-Israeli conflict on October 7, and since then, the trampling of human dignity and the unlimited use of violence have been increasingly legitimized. In short, the dominant forces in this war have agreed, providing covert support to one another, with the implicit message: “No matter what you do to the people and women, no one will hold you accountable”. Another aspect of this agreement is the growth of patriarchy. The forces of the system, through their direct involvement in proxy wars and the use of gang militias as intermediaries, are wielding violence without limits against humanity, aiming to cultivate patriarchy and male dominance above all other values.

Women know the truth of these gangs hiding behind their new image

It is necessary to understand the true face of the war that began on 26 November 2024 against Aleppo, continued with the occupation of Hama, Homs and led to the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus. The hegemonic powers have revitalised HTS and SNA by giving them a new image. They want to suffocate the region of the Rojava Revolution, which has blossomed with the struggles and efforts of women, and turn it into a hell. There is a saying; ‘In wars, the truth is murdered first’.

Nowadays, amidst the dust and chaos, on the maps there is a race to acquire land. On those maps, on the screens, places marked with a dot, and instructions are given for their capture. Millions of people live in these places, represented simply as dots on a map, and in the mind of the dominant male, there is no concern for these millions of people or for the situation of women there. No one cares about the plight of the millions of people living there, especially the situation of women. All that matters is the spoils to be gained by the outside players. This oldest memory of this land, the sickness that has plagued it for so long, only increases the imperial appetite for more.

Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, this image has become familiar. Now it presented anew as a revival of warring herds of men whose beards have been trimmed a little more. But no matter how much image work is done, all the people living in this region, especially women, recognize from their own experience the misogyny in the mentality of these herds of men that manifests itself in hostility towards women. Even if they present themselves in a newly coloured image.

Past and future are colliding in the present

In Syria and across the world, the ongoing third world war must be analyzed through the lens of war politics, where, beyond economic and interest-related aspects, the greatest struggle lies between two opposing life philosophies. Regardless of the developments since 2011, efforts to revert to the starting point persist. Yet, the progress made so far clearly shows that no other force in the region stands for the people and for women, apart from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). All these organisational models represent a current embodiment of the historical resistance of thousands of years. The collective social memory of the past and the aspirations for the future are in the ‘present’ locked in intense conflict.

This geography, where the agricultural culture of women in Til Khalaf clashed thousands of years ago with the patriarchal culture of Al Ubeyd, has become a battleground. It is a geography which was and is simultaneously dedicated to fostering egalitarian societies, but which at the same time has established slave systems. By understanding the lessons of the past and the ongoing events today, we have the chance to shape a brighter future.

“Either Socialism or Barbarism”

The people’s leader Abdullah Ocalan stated; “In the 21st century, either barbarism or socialism will prevail.” We can interpret this in the sense: “Either Jin Jiyan Azadî (women, life, freedom) or Men, State, Violence will prevail.” Hegemonic wars are essentially always about capital and power based on the ruling male mentality of domination. According to this mentality, money and power represent the main object of human knowledge, speech and every form of human will. Groups that remain outside of power, such as societies and women, are objects that can be exploited in all possible ways. The displacement of millions of people from their homes and lands, severing them from their socialization and culture, breaking their hopes, and scattering them to all corners of the world; all this is carried out with deliberate intent. Individuals and communities stripped of faith, hope, and spirituality become vulnerable to all forms of evils. Today, the war in Syria reveals the tragedies we live with: efforts to dissolve the strength of the social fabric and erase the historical memory. Through this war, there is an attempt to turn people into an enemy of themselves and to destroy the future of society, through anger and despair.

With the knowledge that those who resist are are the ones who truly create history, from now it is clear that the way out of this crisis is possible with the democratic, ecological paradigm based on women’s freedom, and the signs of this are emerging day by day.

Jineolojî Academy

8 December 2024

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