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WASHINGTON —Syrian Kurdish groups have welcomed the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, viewing it as a historic opportunity for change after 54 years of rule by the Assad dynasty. However, concerns remain among Kurdish communities about potential opposition to Kurdish rights from the Islamist rebels who led the regime's overthrow.
Following Assad's fall on Sunday, Mazloum Abdi, the top commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, said, "This change is an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantee the rights of all Syrians."
The SDF is the military arm of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), which governs a significant portion of the country. On Thursday, the AANES announced its decision to raise the new Syrian flag adopted by the rebels.
Both the SDF and AANES have expressed their readiness to engage in dialogue with the new authorities in Damascus over the status of Syrian Kurds and other ethnic and religious minorities in territories under their administration.
Kamal Akif, a spokesperson for the AANES, confirmed in a statement on Friday that "the autonomous administration currently works to prepare for the dialogue period."
Syrian Kurds, who constitute nearly 15% of Syria's population of 24 million, have long faced persecution under successive governments in Syria. Their oppression intensified under the Baath party's rule, which began in 1963, stripping Kurds of basic civic, linguistic and cultural rights.
In the wake of Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011, Kurdish forces established control over their region in northeast Syria, eventually becoming a key partner of the United States in the fight against Islamic State group militants.
Preserving autonomy
Salih Muslim, a senior Kurdish politician with the Democratic Union Party, the de facto ruling party in northeast Syria, said the governing institutions that have been set up in recent years should be preserved.
"We have established a sophisticated governing system in our region, so we will not accept returning to the pre-2011 status," he told VOA in a phone interview. "We are ready to start a dialogue process with the new rulers in Damascus, who have so far been saying positive things about inclusiveness and coexistence in Syria."
The offensive that led to the overthrow of Assad's regime was headed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
Following the capture of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city with a significant Kurdish population, the HTS political affairs office issued a statement saying that "Syrian Kurds have the full rights to live in dignity and freedom, as do all the Syrian people."
"We stand with the Kurds as we stand with all segments of the Syrian people and society in building the future Syria in which justice and dignity prevail for all," the statement said.
Other groups that participated in the anti-regime offensive are backed by Turkey, which views the SDF as a terrorist organization. These armed groups have intensified their attacks on Kurdish forces in recent days.
Salih Muslim said Kurds "fear that these groups will continue attacking our forces and further destabilizing our region."
Yerevan Saeed, director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University in Washington, said Kurdish unity is crucial at this critical juncture in Syria to safeguard Kurdish rights.
"For Kurds to preserve their autonomy in the region, the most effective course of action for the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Kurdish National Council is to negotiate a preliminary agreement and present a unified, credible and legitimate front in Damascus," Saeed told VOA.
The Kurdish National Council, or ENKS, a coalition of Kurdish parties that has often been at odds with the AANES, is aligned with the Turkey-based national Syrian opposition.
"This unified representation would be essential to securing Kurdish rights in the new Syrian constitution, much like the successful strategy employed by the Kurds in Iraq in 2003," Saeed added, referring to the unified Iraqi Kurdish front in Baghdad following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Amy Austin Holmes, a professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, emphasized that the most effective approach for the SDF and its civilian component is to engage with all sides.
"Besides HTS, they should also reach out with other rebel factions, for example those in the southern front, as well as the ENKS," she told VOA.
The oil factor
The areas under SDF control in northeast Syria contain most of the country's oil and natural gas fields. Ahed al-Hendi, a Syrian affairs analyst based in Washington, said that this dynamic presents both opportunities and challenges for Syrian Kurdish groups.
"For the Kurdish administration, controlling oilfields could be the biggest leverage point and the most vulnerable one at the same time," he told VOA. "Controlling the oil means all eyes will be on the Kurds, including different hostile powers such as Turkey and the many Syrian rebel groups."
Hendi added that Kurds could leverage their control over oil resources if they successfully manage to integrate with the new Syrian state and demonstrate a willingness to contribute to the country's new phase.
"Controlling oil is a sovereignty matter. It belongs to the Syrian state," he said. "The Kurds can negotiate a proportional share of oil revenues as part of their integration."