Syria’s Kurdish autonomy is fading as Arab unrest challenges Damascus’s control

In the Syrian city of Hasakah, Sunni Arab Syrians held demonstrations following Friday prayers. The protesters, many belonging to Arab tribes, gathered outside the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque in Ghweiran and marched to Liberation Square, brandishing the flag of the new Syrian regime. The unrest in Hasakah, though receiving little attention from regional and international media outlets, highlights the ongoing instability in Syria.

The city was once the heart of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria, until the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024. After a swift military push by Damascus in January, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the administration agreed to dissolve the autonomous administration.

However, Kurdish leaders deliberately avoided confronting the new authorities, fearing the consequences of facing them without external support. Instead, they sought to preserve autonomy while cooperating with central authorities, while semi-independent Kurdish political formations remained. This approach was born out of mistrust between Kurdish structures and the new authorities, as well as the Kurds' desire to make the best of the situation and avoid sectarian violence that has occurred in other parts of the country.

The Syrian Kurds believe that Damascus authorities are reluctant to punish those involved in violence against minorities. Only a few have been tried, and only one or two convicted for involvement in sectarian massacres in Sweida and Latakia. An anonymous source in Hasakah claims that a coordinated campaign on social media, involving fake accounts from Europe, particularly Germany, encouraged Arab residents of the Ghweiran neighborhood to organize demonstrations and raise the Syrian flag.

These demonstrators, mostly young agitators associated with former Islamic State and Baathist elements, chanted sectarian slogans and attacked Kurdish symbols, aiming to provoke a Kurdish reaction and potentially trigger wider ethnic confrontation.

The role of the Damascus authorities in these events remains unclear. A civilian source in Hasakah expressed fear among both Kurds and Arabs of moving inside the city due to the risk of kidnapping. The source suspects a broader political agenda behind the unrest, intending to exploit divisions between Arab and Kurdish communities to create conditions conducive to sectarian or ethnic confrontation. If tensions escalate into widespread violence, the Kurdish authority worries about the consequences.