Kurds in Cyprus gathered in Nicosia along with Cypriots on Thursday carrying flags of greater unified Kurdistan to protest attacks by Damascus regime mercenaries in northeastern Syria.
Kurds and Cypriots of all ages chanted slogans about women, life, freedom and Kurdish unity, and condemned what they described as the silence of the international community and the Republic of Cyprus over events in Rojava.
After marching to the Ledra Palace checkpoint, demonstrators delivered a resolution to UN representatives about war crimes committed by the Al-Shara regime in Syria. Protesters chanted “Freedom to Rojava,” “Woman, life, freedom,” “Terrorist Jolani,” “Terrorist Erdogan” and “Kurdistan is one.”
At Eleftheria Square, Yassin Tarbous, head of the Democratic Union Party Cyprus (PYD), made an appeal about the situation in northeastern Syria.
Representatives from Cypriot political parties attended and spoke at the demonstration. AKEL spokesperson and MP Giorgos Koukoumas took part, as did Elena Kozakou Lympouri, spokesperson for the Movement of Ecologists.
The protest coincided with a scheduled parliamentary vote on a resolution concerning the Kurds in Rojava.
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 certain areas, but Turkey-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.
(images source: MATTPRESS/George Christoforou)