Enab Baladi, Mohammad Kakhi
Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa has escalated his political rhetoric against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in his latest interview with the Kurdish Shams TV channel, excerpts of which were aired by the state-run Syrian al-Ikhbariya. Al-Sharaa’s discourse shifted toward blame and accusations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), accusing the SDF of being beholden to the party and carrying out its agenda.
President al-Sharaa argued that the SDF is “pushing the Kurdish component into a narrow, factional armed party framework, with external ties and taking orders from the Qandil Mountains,” and that the SDF is acting against the international will, including that of the United States, which supports the SDF, and which, according to al-Sharaa, is pressing for Syria’s territorial unity in line with the vision of US President Donald Trump.
A tactical shift or a strategic change in the state’s stance?
Official discourse, as reflected in President al-Sharaa’s recent remarks, has moved from insinuation to direct accusation, placing the SDF in a new political framing that openly links it to the PKK. Analysts interviewed by Enab Baladi said this development aims to strip the SDF of its national legitimacy.
In his interview with Shams TV, al-Sharaa referenced the PKK’s role on multiple occasions, stressing that the SDF’s decision-making is tied to the Qandil Mountains. He said the military commander who led the operations in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and al-Ashrafiyeh (Aleppo, northern Syria) had been hiding in the Qandil Mountains for seven years, and that the resources of Syria’s eastern region also “go to the Qandil Mountains,” according to his remarks.
Political researcher and analyst Nawar Shaaban said this shift in al-Sharaa’s rhetoric was grounded in field realities revealed by the battle of Sheikh Maqsoud and al-Ashrafiyeh, where repeated violations of the ceasefire exposed confusion within SDF decision-making and the presence of non-Syrian actors controlling its trajectory. This, he said, pushed the government to conclude that the decision was no longer national and no longer aligned with the principle of sovereignty.
Shaaban added, in his remarks to Enab Baladi, that linking the SDF to the PKK was meant to explain the failure of the negotiation track, which continued despite multiple violations, before ultimately collapsing because of them.
Decree 13 and Kurdish rights
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 13 of 2026, granting Syrian nationality to all citizens of Kurdish origin residing in Syria, including those listed as “unregistered” (maktoumei al-qayd).
The decree, issued on 16 January, also annulled all laws and exceptional measures resulting from the 1962 al-Hasakah census.
It stated that Kurdish is a national language, allowing it to be taught in public and private schools in areas where Kurds constitute a notable proportion of the population, either as part of optional curricula or as a cultural educational activity.
The decree also declared a national holiday for Nowruz, celebrated by Kurds on 21 March, describing it as a day of fraternity and spring.
According to the decree, the state is committed to protecting cultural and linguistic diversity, and guarantees Kurdish citizens the right to preserve their heritage and arts and to develop their mother tongue within the framework of national sovereignty.
It also said state media and educational institutions are committed to adopting an inclusive national discourse, and that any discrimination or exclusion on ethnic or linguistic grounds is legally prohibited. It added that anyone who incites ethnic strife will be punished under applicable laws.
Separating Kurds from the SDF
During his interview with Shams TV, al-Sharaa said on more than one occasion that the SDF does not represent the Kurdish component, but rather “steals” its decision-making. He said Kurds are not unified around the SDF’s claim to represent them, and that there are internal divisions within the Kurdish component, and they are not in agreement with the SDF’s approach.
The Kurdish component took part with us in the revolution, and there is a Kurdish component within the revolution, but it does not belong to the SDF. I do not believe in the theory that the Kurdish component is represented by the SDF, and there are also internal divisions within the Kurdish component, and they are not united around the SDF’s theory.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa
Political researcher and analyst Ayman Dasouki said al-Sharaa’s political and field messages reflect a strategic approach to resolving the SDF file through a framework centered on affirming state sovereignty and extending its control over all Syrian territory. In this context, escalation is linked to a goal, and serves as an assertion that there is no bargaining on this issue, and that all matters can be discussed under the umbrella of the state and its institutions.
Dasouki added, in his remarks to Enab Baladi, that there is an effort to weaken the SDF socially by dismantling its narrative that it represents Syrian Kurds, by emphasizing its links to external agendas that do not represent Syrian Kurds. He said this current bears responsibility for the stalled negotiations between the Syrian government and the SDF, and therefore any government military action would not be directed at Kurds as such, but at a current that seeks to monopolize the Kurdish issue.
Researcher and political analyst Nawar Shaaban said the current media war is enormous. He noted that when al-Sharaa issued Decree 13 recognizing the Kurdish component and granting Syrian nationality and cultural rights, several statements were released by bodies affiliated with the SDF attacking the decree. At the same time, he said there were widespread celebrations among Kurds in Aleppo, Afrin (northwestern Aleppo governorate), and Rukn al-Din (Damascus), and in many areas outside SDF control.
He argued that the Kurdish component outside SDF influence accepted the decree because it reflects what Kurds have aspired to since Syria’s independence in the 1940s. This, he said, shows the SDF is not directly concerned with Kurdish interests, since the decree is clear and grants the Kurdish component the rights it has long sought.
For his part, Dasouki said distinguishing between the SDF and Kurdish rights, and reinforcing that distinction through Decree 13, is an attempt to recontain the SDF’s role and presence in the Syrian Kurdish issue. He said these messages and the decree could separate a Kurdish national current from a Kurdish current tied to external agendas, giving the Syrian government greater room and tools on the ground, military and security, to act against the Kurdish current linked to external agendas.
“Autonomous Administration” response
The Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria said the decree may be considered a first step, but that it does not meet the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian people, who have made great sacrifices and waged a real revolution to obtain their legitimate rights and build a democratic state where everyone can live a free and dignified life based on justice and equality.
It said rights are not safeguarded through temporary decrees, but are protected and entrenched through permanent constitutions that reflect the will of all peoples and components.
The administration called for drafting a pluralistic, democratic constitution that protects, preserves, and upholds the rights of all Syrian components, communities, and beliefs, describing this diversity as a source of Syria’s strength and true beauty.
Damascus seeks to separate Kurds from the SDF Enab Baladi.
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