Kurds march in Nicosia as parliament set to vote on Rojava resolution

Members of the Kurdish community in Cyprus marched through central Nicosia on Thursday, as parliament prepared to vote on a resolution concerning the situation in Syria’s Kurdish-held Rojava region.

Carrying flags of a unified Kurdistan, demonstrators protested what they described as ongoing attacks by forces linked to the Damascus regime in northeastern Syria, while criticising what they called the “silent complicity of the international community and Cyprus”.

Chanting slogans including “Freedom to Rojava”, “Woman, life, freedom” and “Kurdistan is one”, protesters marched to the Ledra Palace checkpoint, where they delivered a resolution to United Nations representatives referring to alleged war crimes committed by the Al-Shara regime in Syria.

Chants also targeted Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, former Al Nusra emir known by his nom-de-guerre Jolani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both of whom protesters labelled “terrorists”.

At Eleftheria Square, Yassin Tarbous, head of the Democratic Union Party in Cyprus, warned of the deteriorating situation in northeastern Syria.

“What is happening in Rojava is an attack on coexistence, democracy and the rights of women and minorities,” he told the crowd.

Representatives of Cypriot political parties attended the demonstration, including Akel MP Giorgos Koukoumas and Ecologists spokeswoman Elena Lympouri, both of whom expressed solidarity with the Kurdish cause.

The protest coincided with a scheduled vote in the House of representatives on a resolution addressing the situation of the Kurds in Rojava, as fighting and instability continue to threaten the region.

A public letter has been issued expressing citizen support and solidarity with the Kurdish population in northeastern Syria, ahead of the vote on the resolution submitted by the Movement of Ecologists–Citizens’ Cooperation.

The letter outlines concerns about continuing attacks, humanitarian violations and destabilisation in the region. It calls on MPs to consider these voices when voting on the resolution.

According to the letter, on December 8, 2024, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani became president of the Syrian Transitional Government and was recognised by the international community, including the United States, European Union, Britain, Greece and Cyprus.

The letter states that an agreement signed on March 10, 2025, for the integration of Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian army did not change conditions, as the Damascus regime continued to commit massacres against Alawites, Druze and Christians.

A second agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and al-Jolani’s government followed, but attacks continued with Turkish involvement in northern Syria, the letter says.

According to the letter, attacks by regime-affiliated groups escalated in early 2026, with massacres committed in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh areas of historic Aleppo.

A third agreement, mediated by the United States, led to a ceasefire following  Kurdish forces withdrawal from much of the territory they controlled up to the Euphrates, yet Turkish backed groups did not respect it, the letter claims.

The letter states that attacks continue in Kobani, where Kurdish YPG forces and female YPJ fighters fought one of the most decisive battles against Islamic State in 2014.

The letter calls on Cyprus’s government and political parties to take a position on Rojava, particularly during Cyprus’s current presidency of the Council of Europe.

It urges Cypriot leaders to take responsibility for ending attacks against the Kurdish people and to stand alongside Kurdish forces resisting what the letter describes as ‘jihadists’.