Tensions flare in Syria’s Kurdish northeast as government integration deal moves ahead

Hundreds of oil tanker trucks were stranded in northeastern Syria after demonstrators blocked a major highway near Tal Tamr to protest rising fuel prices. The protest is the latest sign of discontent among Kurdish communities as the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa pushes forward with integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the national army and bringing formerly autonomous institutions under central control. Kurds fear losing rights they had under self-rule, with additional protests over education decrees and violence against former SDF fighters.

Hundreds of oil tanker trucks were stranded in northeastern Syria on Wednesday after demonstrators blocked the M4 highway near Tal Tamr to protest rising fuel prices. The government hiked gasoline prices by about 30% and diesel by 40%, citing global fuel price increases due to the US-Iran war and repair work at the Baniyas refinery. The protest is the latest sign of rising discontent among Kurdish communities as the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa pushes forward with integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the national army and bringing formerly autonomous institutions under central control. Kurds, who made up about 10% of Syria's pre-war population, carved out a de facto autonomous zone during the civil war and now fear losing rights they had under self-rule. Students in Qamishli and Hassakeh have protested a government decree that makes Kurdish an official language of instruction but only provides three classes per week. A Kurdish former SDF fighter who joined the Syrian army as part of the integration deal was abducted and killed by Arab men in Hassakeh. Prisoners rioted in a jail in Kobani, igniting a fire that killed nine detainees. Noah Bonsey of the International Crisis Group said the anger over fuel hikes could be a real obstacle to the integration process.