ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday censured the use of “provocative” statements by Damascus-affiliated armed groups against the force and residents of northeast Syria (Rojava) during celebrations marking the first anniversary of Bashar al-Assad’s fall.
“In the past hours, some Syrian areas have witnessed celebratory scenes related to the fall of the Baath regime—an event that reflects the deep desire of Syrians to turn the page on authoritarianism and open a new chapter of freedom, justice, and the will of the people,” said the SDF in a statement in the early hours of Tuesday.
“In contrast, dangerous practices emerged from armed groups affiliated with the Ministry of Defense in the Damascus government, accompanied by provocative and hostile chants against the Syrian Democratic Forces and the peoples of north and east Syria—scenes that fully evoke the mindset of the very Baathist regime the Syrian people rose up against,” it added.
Syrians across the country celebrated the first anniversary of the regime change on Monday, with military parades in Damascus. A video of a notorious commander threatening the SDF went viral in recent days.
“We are just waiting for instructions,” Mohammad Hussein al-Jassim (Abu Amsha) said in an apparent threat against the SDF. Abu Amsha is a former commander of a Turkey-backed militia group and has been assigned as the head of a brigade under Syria’s new security apparatus.
Abu Amsha’s now-dissolved Sultan Suleiman Shah Division had been accused of committing various violations against the Kurdish population in Afrin and elsewhere in Syria. He has also been accused of assassinating prominent Kurdish politician Havrin Khalaf in 2019.
“The fact that these chants were issued by members affiliated with the Ministry of Defense places the authorities in Damascus before clear responsibilities that cannot be ignored. Either these actions are part of an official approach being promoted through rhetorical chaos, or they reflect a deliberate inability to control the armed groups under their command. In either case, the message received by the Syrian people is the persistence of the same incitement mentality that the people overthrew by their own will,” stated the SDF on Tuesday without mentioning any specific groups.
Ankara-backed militia groups intensified attacks against the SDF late last year as rebel groups spearheaded by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a lightning offensive against Assad’s regime and toppled it within days. The SDF lost the strategic city of Manbij to the militia groups but was able to resist on all other fronts.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, former head of the HTS, signed a landmark deal in March, which includes a nationwide ceasefire. Despite a dramatic drop in their attacks, groups supported by Turkey continue to carry out assaults against the SDF in areas separating both sides.
Notably, the SDF banned celebrations for the fall of Assad, citing security threats. The move has been censured by Damascus.