To display this YouTube content, it is necessary to authorize audience measurement and advertising cookies.

An extension in your browser appears to be blocking the loading of the video player. To be able to watch this content, you must disable or uninstall it.

Published on: 02/20/2026 - 11:57

The Kurds find themselves faced with a paradox: indispensable when the West needs allies in the region, abandoned when the time comes for political choices. The agreement signed at the end of January between Syria and the Syrian Kurds put an end to the dream of a greater Kurdistan. The loss of autonomy of Rojava has revived a feeling of insecurity. Report by Pauline Godart, Amar Al-Hameedawi and Dida Faridoon.

On January 30, after several weeks of clashes, the Kurds of Syria and the Syrian transitional government signed a ceasefire agreement. This agreement recorded the progressive integration of the administration of the Kurdish autonomous zone, Rojava, and the Kurdish military forces, within the Syrian state. A setback for the Syrian Kurds who say they signed this text to avoid a bloodbath.

A text received with great suspicion, because many do not trust Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Charaa. They keep his jihadist past in mind. These events have awakened solidarity between the Kurdish peoples.

Iraqi Kurdish aid has flowed particularly to Qamishli, which serves as the capital of what remains of Rojava. Thousands of displaced people were able to benefit from it.

Iraqi Kurdistan as a refuge

For the Kurdish people, scattered in Türkiye, Syria and Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan is a refuge, particularly for Iranian Kurds.

Some fled the repression that followed the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, launched after the death of Mahsa Amini. Others fled, but have become fighters and are ready to intervene from the Balisan valley, not far from the border with Iran.

Further north in Iraqi Kurdistan, villagers still live under the threat of clashes between Turkey and the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, considered a terrorist movement by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, despite an agreement signed in 2025.

Caught between conflicts, borders and history, a large part of the Kurdish people still dream of living, one day, in a greater Kurdistan. But they affirm it: it is by remaining united that they will succeed.

Related keywords

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.