ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Veteran US Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he and Senator Richard Blumenthal have introduced the Save the Kurds Act in the US Senate, aiming to protect the Kurds in northeastern Syria (Rojava) amid an ongoing offensive by Damascus and its allied armed factions.
“I believe that there is strong bipartisan support for the idea of protecting the Kurds in Syria and beyond because they have been such a reliable ally to the United States,” Graham said in a post on X.
The legislation comes amid a large-scale offensive launched in mid-January by the Syrian Arab Army and allied armed groups to seize territory held by the SDF in northern Syria and Rojava. These areas were among those liberated by Kurdish-led forces from ISIS following the group’s declaration of its so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2014.
Graham added that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), “with a large Kurdish element, took the brunt of the fight to defeat ISIS during President Trump’s first term.”
“I realize Syria is complicated culturally, ethnically, and politically. However, attacking the Kurds greatly diminishes the United States’ standing and will hinder Syria’s ability to grow as a country,” Graham said.
He warned: “To those countries or groups who believe it is open season on the Kurds in Syria without consequence, you will be sadly mistaken.”
Syrian government forces and affiliated militants have advanced into former SDF-held areas in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa, as well as near the Kurdish-majority province of Hasaka in eastern Rojava. According to United Nations figures, the fighting has displaced an estimated 100,000 people, mostly Kurds.
Amid growing pressure from the US House of Representatives and Senate, the US administration has brokered a temporary ceasefire between Damascus and the Kurdish-led forces. The truce was extended to 15 days on Saturday after the initial four-day period expired.
The ceasefire is intended to facilitate the safe transfer of ISIS detainees previously held in SDF-run prisons in northern and northeastern Syria to neighboring Iraq. It is also meant to create space for accelerated negotiations between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava.
US lawmakers told Rudaw on Wednesday that they are intensifying calls to support and protect the Kurds in Rojava, voicing support for Graham’s Save the Kurds Act.
Blumenthal said the House of Representatives is actively working to safeguard the Kurds.
“I believe we need to protect the Kurds in Syria and take action to ensure they are protected from any retribution or revenge by the Syrian government," he said.
He further urged stronger action from President Donald Trump’s administration, stressing that the United States has “an obligation” to the Kurds.
The Kurdish-led SDF serves as the de facto military force in northeastern Syria and has for more than a decade been the US-led coalition’s primary on-the-ground ally in the country, playing a key role in the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019.