The Kurdish–led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), formed to fight off Bashar al-Assad and assist the United States in containing ISIS, had to retreat from one of their strongholds in Aleppo when the Syrian army overran it.
This is one more indication that Syria's ex-al-Qaeda leader, now President Ahmad al-Sharaa, can't be trusted to keep his promises.
More to the point, al-Sharaa is threatening the very effective anti-ISIS alliance that included the Syrian government and the independent Kurdish SDF, as well as tribal militias in the North. Now, a cease-fire agreement between the Kurds and the Syrian army will integrate the SDF into the regular army.
This is contrary to al-Sharaa's promise to protect minority rights in Syria. That promise was the reason the U.S. Congress repealed the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, opening the door for international aid to flow to Damascus.
"The Syrian military, assisted by local tribal militias, has advanced into areas of northern Syria long held by the SDF, pushing them out and taking control of major power-generation facilities and oil and gas fields," reports the Jewish Insider. "Despite certain agreements made between Syrian Kurds and the government, the SDF said the government had not offered them sufficient concessions or autonomy," the report said.
On Sunday, the Syrian government announced a new agreement with the SDF that will necessitate further major concessions by the Kurds.
“The United States commends the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for their constructive efforts in reaching today’s ceasefire agreement, paving the way for renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria,” U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also U.S. envoy to Syria , said in a statement.
However, the deal didn't stop the Syrian offensive.
“We welcome ongoing efforts by all parties in Syria to prevent escalation and pursue resolution through dialogue. We also urge Syrian government forces to cease any offensive actions in areas between Aleppo and al-Tabqa,” Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command, said in a statement on Saturday. “Aggressively pursuing ISIS and relentlessly applying military pressure requires teamwork among Syrian partners in coordination with U.S. and coalition forces. A Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors is essential to peace and stability across the region.”
Al-Sharaa's army has gone to war against the Druze minority. Syrian Druze have been killed by Syrian government forces and affiliated militias, particularly during sectarian violence and clashes in Southern Syria starting in April 2025, with mass killings, extrajudicial executions, and ambushes targeting Druze civilians, sometimes with anti-Druze slogans, leading to significant casualties.
Also, the hated Alawite Muslim sect from which the Assads and the ruling clique came suffered several massacres last year. Al-Sharaa is either allowing these massacres or cannot control his army.
Are the Kurds next?
Mazloum, a 39-year-old father and professional in Aleppo, tells the New York Sun, “We are very afraid for the Kurdish people."
It’s a fear rooted in pattern recognition. Syria’s minorities have learned to read the signs of what comes next: displacement, sectarian violence, the erasure of communities that don’t fit the victor’s vision.
Once more, Syria’s Kurds find themselves in the middle of a power struggle — caught among Syrian instability, shifting American priorities and attention, and Turkey’s desire to eliminate one of the world’s largest stateless ethnic groups. The pattern is especially bitter because it involves an ally they fought beside and an abandonment they’ve experienced before.
The Kurds have been left asking why the partner they bled with against ISIS — the United States — is standing by as their neighborhoods fall to Syria’s national army. “People are criticizing SDF leadership and the U.S.,” Mazloum says, “that they allowed those forces to attack Kurdish people.”
The Kurds are outnumbered and vastly outgunned. They are fighting for the right to exist as an independent enclave within Syria. If they don't get the assurances they are looking for, they will continue to make life very difficult for the Syrian army and President al-Sharaa.
