Protesters carry the Kurdistan flag during a demonstration outside the United Nations office in Erbil on Jan. 20, 2026, in support of Kurds in Rojava facing attacks by Syrian government forces and affiliated groups. (Photo: 964media)
‘Long live Rojava’: protest at UN office in Erbil attacks on Syrian Kurds
ERBIL — Hundreds gathered Tuesday outside the United Nations office in Erbil to show support for the Kurds in Rojava as they are facing offensive attacks by Syrian government forces and affiliated armed groups.
Carrying the Kurdistan flag, participants chanted slogans such as “Long live Rojava” and “Enough killing Kurds.” They condemned the violence and accused the Syrian state of targeting Kurds for their identity.
“We won’t stay silent,” demonstrators said, calling on the United States to intervene and halt the assault.
One protester told 964media, “We are always being killed just because we are Kurds. Now, Kurds are united everywhere. These states are killing us in the name of ‘Allahu Akbar.’”
Participants also highlighted the role of the Syrian Democratic Forces in dismantling ISIS and called on the international community to uphold its responsibilities to protect the region.
Large crowds of Kurds gathered late Monday night and continued into Tuesday across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in a wave of demonstrations supporting Kurds in northeastern Syria, known as Rojava, after renewed fighting followed the collapse of a ceasefire there.
By Tuesday morning, groups of Kurds had begun organizing travel toward Rojava.
The protest comes as the security landscape in northeastern Syria shifts sharply. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, long backed by the U.S.-led coalition and central to the campaign that dismantled the Islamic State’s territorial control in 2019, have faced mounting pressure amid renewed fighting and the unraveling of a ceasefire and integration agreement with Syria’s transitional government shortly after it was announced.