Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa has issued a decree formally recognising Kurdish as a “national language” and restoring citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians.
Al-Sharaa’s decree on Friday came after fierce clashes that broke out last week in the northern city of Aleppo, leaving at least 23 people dead, according to Syria’s health ministry, and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city.
The clashes ended after Kurdish fighters withdrew and the Syrian army assumed full control over the city of Deir Hafer in the governorate of Aleppo.
The violence in Aleppo has deepened one of the main faultlines in Syria, where al-Sharaa promised to unify the country under one leadership after 14 years of war against former President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024.
The decree for the first time grants Kurdish Syrians rights, including recognition of Kurdish identity as part of Syria’s national fabric. It designates Kurdish as a national language alongside Arabic and allows schools to teach it.
It also abolishes measures dating to a 1962 census in Hasakah province that stripped many Kurds of Syrian nationality, granting citizenship to all affected residents, including those previously registered as stateless.
The decree declares Newroz, the spring and new year festival, a paid national holiday. It bans ethnic or linguistic discrimination, requires state institutions to adopt inclusive national messaging and sets penalties for incitement to ethnic strife.
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