The Office of General Yazdanpanah criticized the lack of action of the West regarding the situation for the Kurds in Syria, and continued: “Rojava will fall if we Kurds do not consider their struggle as ours.”
“We are entering to fight side by side with our people in Rojava,” said the Office of General Hussein Yazdanpanah, commander in chief of the Kurdistan Liberation Party (PAK). The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
“We are in negotiations with the relevant parties in Rojava. We are working to find a mechanism for transporting logistics and soldiers to be deployed immediately in Rojava.”
The Office of General Yazdanpanah criticized the inaction of the West regarding the worsening situation for the Kurds in Syria, and continued: “Rojava will fall if we Kurds do not consider their struggle as ours.”
She added that Tom Barrack, the special envoy of the President of the United States, traded his obligations, responsibilities and moral commitments for a set of interests that ultimately tarnishes the reputation of his own country.
Similarly, Yazdanpanah posted on X: “Ahmad al-Shara’s attacks on the Kurds destroy the credibility of the United States, France, and Israel,” adding that their inaction is “strengthening ISIS and diverting attention from Iran’s killing of 15–20K protesters.”
GENERAL HUSSEIN Yazdanpanah, commander in chief of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK). (Credit: Courtesy PAK)
Murat Karaylan, a senior leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said Kurdish fighters from Turkey would “never abandon” the Kurds in Syria, adding, “Whatever the cost, we will never leave you alone.” He also strongly condemned the inaction of the West, going further by accusing international powers of allowing the attacks and calling it a “black mark” on the United States, Britain, Germany and France.
French philosopher and public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy issued a statement describing the treatment of the Kurdish-led SDF as a historic moral failure. On his social media platform X on January 20, 2026, he wrote: “The betrayal of the Kurds by the West is one of the most disturbing changes of our time,” reminding the world of the crucial role played by SDF fighters in defeating ISIS.
Social media platforms have been flooded with messages of support and solidarity with the Kurds in Syria. Accounts with huge followings from Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have expressed their support for the Kurds. In addition, large numbers of Iraqi Arabs, Druze, Alawites, and Lebanese Christians also came out in solidarity with Rojava.
Kurdish groups launch the #DefendRojava campaign
Meanwhile, Kurdish groups from all four parts of Kurdistan (Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey) and the diaspora launched a global campaign under the hashtag #DefendRojava. They called for “global demonstrations”, urging people to stand with the Kurds.
In the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Turkey, young Kurds tried to climb the border barriers to make their way to help defend their brothers in Rojava. As the Israeli TV presenter Laura Cellier said, this “remembers when young Jews flew to Israel from all over the world after October 7, and when the Druze crossed to Sweida.”
Widespread protests erupted across Kurdistan and the diaspora, demanding an end to the Syrian Arab Army’s attacks on Kurdish territories. Mosques across the Kurdish region of Syria played traditional Kurdish patriotic songs to boost morale among terrified civilians, reminding them that this is “the battle of Rojava.”
The widespread mobilization, which spanned from Erbil to Bochum, Germany, indicates growing fear and anger within the Kurdish community over what activists describe as an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing in Rojava. Demonstrations are planned around the world, including one in Tel Aviv on January 21, organized by the Jewish-Kurdish Committee outside the Turkish Embassy in Israel.
In Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, a massive demonstration gathered in front of the US Consulate General. Demonstrators waving Kurdish flags chanted anti-oppression slogans and expressed “deep disappointment” with the Trump administration’s tormenting silence. They accused the US administration of betraying the SDF and allowing Syrian forces and their affiliated jihadi militias to invade Kurdish territories, committing massacres against civilians, including women and children.
Turkey, the main backer of the Arab-led Islamic government in Damascus, is also home to more than 22 million Kurds, making the environment there akin to a “ticking bomb” waiting to explode. The official response of the Turkish government – which warns that it will not tolerate any “provocation” – indicates pressure coming from the possibility of spillover effects.
Despite the geographical divide between the Kurdish communities in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, the Kurds have historically relied on each other in times of hardship. For example, when the Kurdish region of Iraq came under existential threat after the Kurdish independence referendum in 2017, Kurdish fighters, including the Kurdistan National Army of General Hussein Yazdanpana, deployed to assist their Kurdish brothers in the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq, known to the Kurds as Sorani.
What is currently happening inside post-Assad Syria, including the killing of ethnic minorities, is not sustainable. If it is not stopped, it will lead to disastrous consequences, with spillover effects that impact regional security, in particular in Syria’s neighboring countries: Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran.
Suzan Quitaz is a Kurdish-Swedish journalist and researcher on Middle Eastern affairs. She was an Israel-based journalist and podcast presenter for the Arabic and English series Exposing the Lies – The Voice of Truth from the Middle East at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. She previously worked as a field producer and reporter at a number of Qatari media outlets.