The Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) at the American University of Kurdistan expresses its grave concern over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Rojava Kurdistan (Northeast Syria), following continued incursions by the Syrian Armed Forces and mercenary tribes into predominantly Kurdish areas. Recent developments indicate a dangerous escalation that poses immediate and severe risks to civilian populations, humanitarian access, and regional stability.
Of particular alarm is the ongoing siege of Kobani, which has now endured for more than two weeks. Kobani—an internationally recognized symbol of resistance against terrorism and the fight against ISIS—remains encircled, with civilians facing acute shortages, insecurity, and isolation. If this siege continues, the region risks witnessing one of the most severe humanitarian catastrophes in recent years, marked by mass displacement, civilian casualties, and the collapse of already fragile living conditions.
Credible reports from local monitors and international organizations continue to document serious abuses by Syrian Armed Forces and affiliated groups, including arbitrary detention, forced displacement, looting of civilian property, and systematic intimidation of Kurdish communities. Such practices erode social cohesion, deepen trauma, and undermine any prospects for sustainable peace.
CPHS reiterates that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria played a critical and internationally acknowledged role in defeating ISIS, at an immense human and societal cost borne on behalf of the global community. These sacrifices must not be ignored, nor should the communities that fought terrorism be left vulnerable to renewed violence and siege. At the same time, CPHS recognizes and commends the remarkable wave of solidarity emerging globally, particularly from Kurds across all parts of Kurdistan and within the diaspora. This transnational mobilization—expressed through advocacy, humanitarian support, and public awareness—demonstrates a collective commitment to civilian protection, dignity, and justice in the face of renewed threats.
In this context, CPHS calls for immediate and more active engagement by the international community to prevent further escalation, support civilian protection, and ensure stability east of the Euphrates where Kurdish people reside. We urge an immediate halt to all further military operations and sieges that endanger civilian life and risk irreversible humanitarian consequences.
As an academic institution committed to peacebuilding and human security, CPHS reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Rojava Kurdistan. We call upon universities, research centers, and academic networks worldwide to stand in ethical solidarity through urgent scholarly engagement, public advocacy, and collective action aimed at preventing further human suffering.
Silence in moments of imminent humanitarian danger is not neutrality. It is abdication.
Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS)
The American University of Kurdistan
