US EditionSyria’s Sharaa Grants Citizenship and Language Rights to Kurdish Syrians, State Media Says
The decree grants citizenship to previously stateless Kurds and recognizes Kurdish language and Nowruz holiday amid stalled integration talks and recent clashes.
- On January 16, Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Decree No.13 granting Kurdish language rights and citizenship, declaring Kurdish a national language and Nowruz a national holiday, state media SANA reported.
- Amid stalled integration talks, the decree aimed to woo Kurds after clashes in Aleppo last week killed at least 23 and displaced more than 150,000 in Kurdish-led autonomous administration areas.
- Technically, the decree annuls exceptional 1962 census measures, grants Syrian citizenship provisions to Kurds, constituting between 10% and 15% of the population, including 1,200,000 in the northeast, and bans discrimination prohibition by ethnicity or language.
- Following the decree, Mazloum Abdi, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said forces will withdraw east of Aleppo at 7 a.m. local time, and Syrian troops struck Kurdish positions in Deir Hafer shortly after.
- Strategically, observers note Sharaa's conciliatory gesture is striking given his ouster of Bashar al-Assad last year, but officials warn a failed diplomacy could lead the Syrian army to launch a full-scale campaign stripping Kurds of their semi-autonomous zone and imperiling the March 10 agreement.
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68 Articles
Syria’s al-Sharaa restores citizenship and language rights to Syrian Kurds
NewsFeedSyrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a decree formally recognising Kurdish as a national language and restoring citizenship to all Syrian Kurds.Published On 18 Jan 202618 Jan 2026Click here to share on social mediashare2SharefacebooktwitterwhatsappcopylinkSave Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source The post Syria’s al-Sharaa restores citizenship and language rights to Syrian Kurds appeared first on RocketNews.
This deployment occurs in the aftermath of a decree granting national rights to the Kurdish minority.
Syrian army extends control over northern part of country as Kurds report clashes
The government appeared to be seeking to extend its grip on parts of the country under Kurdish control a day after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara issued a decree on Friday declaring Kurdish an official language and granting citizenship to all Syrian Kurds, stating that the Kurds are an essential and inseparable part of Syria.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a decree recognizing Kurdish as the national language.
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