A-Infos (en) UK, AFED, Organise - (A) report from NES - August (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Finalization of SDF integration process ---- In the end of August Mazlum 
Ebdi announced the completion of the integration of SDF into the new 
Syrian army, composed of 3 divisions in Hasakah and 1 in Kobane. The 
integration of Asayish in the ministry of interior is undergoing some 
new developments as well, with YPJ integrating in it as well as a new 
Asayish structure in Afrin. --- Clashes on the return of Serekaniye --- 
Hundreds of displaced families from Serekaniye returned to their homes 
at the beginning of August, but they were halted by remanent groups of 
SNA militias and other pro-turkish groups, who attack the convoy upon 
its arrival. Men armed with knifes and sticks, some even with firearms, 
charged against Kurdish civilians screaming anti-kurdish slogans and 
threatening to kill them. Several people were injured, and the attacks 
continued over night. In many Kurdish cities demonstrations took place 
to denounce those attacks.

Israel bomb al-Zuhur airbase
On August 19 Israel bombed the al-Zuhur airbase, where the Turkish army 
was planning to transport military equipment. The attacks took place 
when the base was empty, and Israel claimed it followed warnings issued 
to the Turkey to prevent military build up in Syria. The Syrian 
government denounced the attack,the US also criticized it. It is one 
more example of the growing tensions between Turkey and Israel in Syria.

Normalization of Syria
The US removed Syria from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list. With 
this restrictions on banking and finance are also lifted. Global 
electronic payments, eg with mastercard, can now be done in Syria.

Framework law in Turkish parliament
On August 10 the Turkish parliament approved a law to proceed with the 
peace process and dissolution of PKK. The law provides some legal frame 
for PKK member to not be prosecuted if they lay down weapons, insisting 
that it does not apply to those accused of "specific serious crimes" 
neither high rank PKK members. It does not address any Kurdish demands 
for political and cultural rights, but is being presented as a first 
step for the ongoing negotiations on the peace process.

Evaluation:
On Rights on Paper, Reality on the Ground
Al-Sharaa's Presidential Decree 13 recognised Kurdish as a national 
language and permits Kurdish-language education. On the surface, that's 
a big deal. In practice, though, the gap between the decree and what's 
actually happening is where the real tension lives. The August 30 
protests at Rojava University and the 4,265 teachers in Afrin and 
eastern Aleppo facing an uncertain future make it clear that even a year 
on, Kurdish-language education is quietly being eroded. Crucially, none 
of these rights are anchored in a constitution, and Kurdish 
representatives weren't at the table when the constitutional drafting 
process kicked off in March 2025. That's not a great foundation for 
reconciliation.

The Kurdish project isn't over, but it's narrowing or shifting from a 
model of territorial administration toward a much more constrained 
negotiation over cultural rights, local governance, and administrative 
competences. If that process keeps stalling without real progress for 
Kurds, it risks setting a precedent that other minority communities in 
Syria will end up facing.

On the Economic Squeeze
Integration has also meant a noticeably worse economic situation in the 
northeast. The region was never rich, but it had a degree of 
self-reliance - oil revenue, local trade, its own management. Since the 
handover to Damascus, fuel subsidies have been cut, drinking water is a 
growing problem in several areas, and prices have been climbing. DAANES 
kept things as stable as it could with the resources it had; now that 
the central government is in charge, basic services and access to 
critical resources have become a much bigger issue than they were before.

On the SDF's Dissolution
Internally and abroad, the SDF's dissolution was framed as a "historic" 
moment. From the DAANES side, the picture is a lot more complicated. The 
SDF had been the largest organized military force outside Damascus's 
control for over a decade, and its dismantling wasn't really a 
negotiation so much as an imposition. The strong influence of Turkey, 
not just the government of al-Sharaa but also on the diplomatic US 
mission in middle east, has been critical. Erdogan attempts to get a 
green light for a big operation in northern Syria against SDF was not a 
secret. To avoid that and prevent such a doomsday scenario for the 
Kurdish population in Syria, SDF sat on the negotiation table to salvage 
certain degree of autonomy from SDF forces. The final agreement resulted 
in the integration of SDF in divisions local divisions (3 in hassakah, 1 
in Kobane), keeping their command structures and their territorial 
integrity. Assayish (civil defense forces) got integrated in the 
ministry of interior in a similar deal, keeping also local autonomy. 
After months of negotiations about the role of YPJ in the new Syria, it 
finally got integrated in the ministry of interior, not in the military 
forces as intended.

The final agreements translate into big concessions with not many gains. 
Some basic recognition of cultural and political identity of the Kurdish 
people has been acknowledged by the new Syrian government, with Newroz 
recognized as a national holiday and Kurdish language as a subject in 
schools. On the ground, we can see many Kurds discontent with the 
results, deepening resentment and questioning the legitimacy of the new 
government. The self-administration and SDF showed their commitment to 
protect Kurdish lives, accepting to disolve in order to avoid war. Now 
all the efforts on building autonomy are gonna be put to real test. The 
grassroots organizing, with hundreds of local communes, academies and 
cooperatives, were to become the main vehicles of transformation of a 
democratic society.

Rojava never aimed to become an independent part of Syria. It aimed to 
develop the revolutionary practices and blueprints to become a free 
society. Not just for Syria, not just for Kurdistan, but beyond. After a 
decade and a half of revolutionary process, with all the victories and 
the losses, a new balance of power emerged in Syria. The revolutionary 
movement learned a lot, the Kurdish Liberation Movement is now 
recognized internationally as a leading force and guidance for 
revolutionaries all around the world. Now is time to put once again all 
lessons learned in practice.

https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2026/09/02/a-report-from-nes-august/
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