Hundreds of armed Iraqi Kurds cross into northeast Syria

Hundreds of armed Iraqi Kurds have crossed from Iraq into northeastern Syria over the past two days, heading towards Hassakeh province, political and security sources in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region told The New Arab.

The sources said the fighters had travelled from Sulaymaniyah province, with some linked to counterterrorism units affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani.

The group was accompanied by political activists and crossed into Syria as volunteers, the sources said.

According to the sources, vehicles transported the armed men through the Semalka–Fishkhabour crossing, which links northeastern Syria with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as through informal routes along the Tigris and Khabur rivers.

The crossings reportedly took place in full view of Peshmerga forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The fighters, all Iraqi Kurds, entered Syrian territory without passports or entry visas, the sources said, adding that vehicles reportedly carrying aid had also crossed into Syria at the same time.

In recent days, Talabani has adopted a more confrontational tone towards Damascus, urging the use of the term “western Kurdistan” to describe Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria.

Al-Thamina television channel, owned by Talabani and based in Sulaymaniyah, broadcast footage in recent days showing armed fighters arriving in Hassakeh, describing them as “Sulaymaniyah counterterrorism forces in western Kurdistan”. The channel also acknowledged that the PUK had decided to send senior party figures to Hassakeh.

An Iraqi foreign ministry official told The New Arab that Syrian authorities in Damascus had formally asked Baghdad to prevent the continued crossing of armed Kurds and civilians into Syria through unofficial routes.

Syria also urged Iraq to secure its northern border and prevent Iraqi armed involvement in the Syrian conflict.

The official said the Iraqi government had conveyed the request to authorities in the Kurdistan Region, but warned that lax enforcement was allowing further crossings to take place.

Legal and constitutional expert Ahmed Hamid al-Hassani said the crossing of fighters linked to Iraqi Kurdish forces, which are constitutionally recognised as part of Iraq’s security apparatus, constituted a serious constitutional violation.

He told The New Arab that Baghdad should not accept the continuation of such actions, warning that they mirror earlier cases of Iraqi armed groups crossing into Syria and risk deepening regional tensions.

Recognition of Kurdish rights announced

The cross-border movements come as Damascus announced measures aimed at addressing long-standing Kurdish grievances in Syria.

Syria’s interior ministry ordered on Wednesday the immediate implementation of a presidential decree granting citizenship to Syrians of Kurdish origin, including those previously registered as “unrecorded”.

The decree recognises Kurds as an integral part of Syrian society and guarantees full equality in rights and obligations.

It formally cancels exceptional laws stemming from the 1962 census in Hassakeh province, which left tens of thousands of Kurds without citizenship for decades.

The measures also recognise Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights, declare Kurdish a national language, allow its teaching in schools in Kurdish-majority areas, and designate Nowruz as a national public holiday across Syria.