Statement to the Public

On this day in 2019, the Turkish state, with the participation of its affiliated armed factions, launched a massive aggression against the cities of Sere Kaniye/Ras al-Ain and Gire Spi/Tal Abyad, targeting the security and stability of our safe areas. They used various types of weapons, including internationally prohibited ones, amidst a disturbing international silence regarding the crimes and violations committed against our people.

This aggression resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the perpetration of gross human rights violations, including killing, kidnapping, looting, and the destruction of infrastructure, as part of a systematic policy aimed at ethnic cleansing and changing the demographic composition of these areas. To this day, Sere Kaniye and Gire Spi remain under occupation, and their residents suffer from a lack of security and ongoing daily violations against civilians.

We, in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, affirm that the Turkish occupation and its affiliated factions pose a direct threat to the unity and stability of Syrian territory. Liberating the occupied areas and ensuring the return of their people with dignity and security is a national and humanitarian duty that cannot be neglected.

On this occasion, we remember with reverence and respect the heroic martyrs of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), and our civilian people who bravely confronted the attacks of Turkey and its affiliated factions, defending their land and dignity with their pure blood. Their sacrifices will remain immortal in the conscience of our people, constituting a source of strength and inspiration for us to continue the struggle until freedom and stability are achieved.

In this context, we call on the Syrian Interim Government to assume its national and humanitarian responsibilities, work diligently to ensure the return of the people to their homes, and end the violations against them. We call on its actions to be within a comprehensive national framework aimed at ending the policies of occupation and demographic change practiced against our people in Sere Kaniye and Gire Spi.

We also emphasize the need to unify Syrian national efforts, with all its components and political and societal forces, to end the Turkish occupation and its divisive schemes. We must work together for a unified, democratic Syria where justice, freedom, and equality prevail among all its people.

Syria today is undergoing a new phase following the fall of the Ba’ath regime, which ruled the country for decades with tyranny and oppression. The Syrian people are still awaiting serious steps toward a safe and dignified return to their homes and the restoration of their right to live in freedom and dignity on their land.

The Syrian people have struggled and revolted against injustice and tyranny in order to achieve the revolution’s goals of freedom, justice, and human dignity. It is incumbent upon all national and political forces to join forces and unite to realize the hopes and aspirations of this people and to preserve the great sacrifices made for the sake of building a new, free, and democratic Syria.

We, in the Democratic Autonomous Administration, renew our pledge to our people and our forces to continue the struggle by all legitimate means until the occupation ends, the displaced return to their homes, and a future of dignity, freedom, and justice is built for all Syrians.

Glory and immortality to our righteous martyrs from the Syrian Democratic Forces and our resistant people.
Freedom to the detainees and abductees.
Victory to the will of the people of North and East Syria.

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria