Recently the world stood by and watched as another dictator was skillfully replaced. Former Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad high tailed it to Vlad Putin land and Ahmed al-Sharaa stepped in. Al-Sharaa is a former al-Qaeda operative released from incarceration in Iraq by the United States. He then went to Syria and created the al-Nusra Front with the intent to overthrow president al-Assad and establish an Islamic state ruled by Sharia Law.

Did you know? Iranian security forces opening fire on protesters in Iran was the event the kicked off the Iranian Revolution and subsequent ousting of the Shah; the beginning of the Islamic State of Iran.

The Syrian Revolution against al-Assad started in 2011, the same year the United States released al-Sharaa. The revolution was led by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Syrian Democratic Front (SDF). The majority of SDF members are Kurds. Al-Sharaa and his al-Nusra Front was able to slide right in there; amazing.

The Kurds have been persecuted by Bashir al-Assad, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Ayatollah Khamenei, Turkish president for life Recep Erdogan and ISIS. There have been military attacks and the use of gas against them by Saddam Hussein (Halabja Massacre) and Bashir al-Assad (Ghouta Chemical Attack). ISIS forces in Syria have been their main enemy.

To understand why see Pogroms Against the Kurds.

The FSD defeated ISIS at the cost of over 11,000 fighters; liberating land and Syrian cities (Le Monde Diplomatique). They housed hundreds of ISIS prisoners and until a few days ago about 24,000 people in a camp near Aleppo with links to ISIS, including families with children (NPR). There is concern by the SDF the ISIS prisoners may escape under attacks by the Syrian government and become a greater threat.

On Tuesday, the Syrian Defence Ministry announced a ceasefire with Kurdish forces and gave them four days to agree to integrate into the forces of President Ahmed al-Sharaa – the Islamist military strongman who came to power in December 2024. The Donald Trump administration, the main ally of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has urged them to accept. The Kurds are hesitant due to recent history. They are politically liberal moderate Muslims. They have worked with the US for over a decade on operations against ISIS.

How ISIS helped Putin – 4dforum

On 6 January 2026 Syrian forces launched an offensive with allied Arab militias into Kurdish controlled territories after negotiations went past the deadline (APNews). On 20 January Kurdish forces withdrew from Aleppo along with thousands of Kurd civilians. The Syrians used drones to attack the ISIS refugee compound.

Kendal Nézan, the president of the Kurdish Institute of Paris said, “His (al-Sharaa’s) intention is to establish his authority across the entire territory, with the logistical, diplomatic and political backing of Turkey, his sponsor. That’s very important to point out.And to establish an Islamic Syrian republic that is already in conflict internally. We saw the massacres of Alawites in March and of Druze in July. The Christian community is very worried. Now it is the Kurds... Obviously, we are very worried. The offensive began on 6 January, after a deal between President Trump and Turkish President Erdoğan, so with an American green light. ..Yes, we’ve been abandoned. Ingratitude is, of course, a constant in human and political history. I would even say we’ve been sacrificed by the allies of the international coalition, the Americans of course. But the others remained silent.” RFI

The Syrian government claims the Kurds were allowing ISIS members out of prison. Syria is coached and briefed by Turkey, which has an extraordinary mastery of propaganda. If the Kurds wanted to open the prison doors, they would have done so. They have guarded these prisons for around 10 years. The obvious intent is to continue persecuting the Kurds.

“The issue obviously goes far beyond the fate of the Kurds alone. The fate of the Kurds matters because they defended not only their country and their territory, but also Europe, and humanity, against the Islamist scourge. More than 15,000 young Kurds were killed in that fight. They defeated Islamic State and captured tens of thousands of its members, who were held in camps. They have been doing this since 2014. And how are they thanked? By being handed over to the Syrian regime and told ‘listen, your mission is over, find an arrangement with the new Syrian regime’, which is Islamist in nature, given that the current leader is a former jihadist.” Kendel Nezan RFI

• A US shift marked Kurdish-led forces’ fall from power in Syria Associated Press
• Fierce clashes’ as Syrian army advances after taking towns held by SDF YouTube
• Explained: How Syrian Forces Moved Into Kurdish-Held Areas NDTV World
• Kurds in Syria ‘sacrificed’ says head of Kurdish Institute of Paris Radio France Internationale
• Syrian Revolution Wikipedia
• Syrian army moves east of Aleppo after Kurdish forces withdraw BBC
• How Syria’s Assad Used Chemical Weapons To Suppress Civilian Unrest NDTV World
• Battle between Kurds, Syria government raises fears of war Deutsche Welle
• Syria accuses Kurds of breaking truce in ‘dangerous escalation,’ tenuous peace deal threatened Jerusalem Post
• Syria’s Kurds protest Aleppo violence as fears of wider conflict grow The Straits Times