The Kurdish people of Rojava are under attack. On January 6, forces aligned with the Syrian transitional authorities launched a violent campaign against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), also known as Rojava. Its people were the frontline that defeated ISIS and built a model of women’s freedom and coexistence. These territories are home to Kurds alongside Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Yazidi, and other communities who built one of the region’s most democratic and pluralistic societies. Today that society is being crushed.

Turkish-backed militias, among them former ISIS members and affiliated groups, are leading assaults marked by horrific crimes.

Reports of the most recent violations include:

• More than 150 Kurdish children have been killed, injured, or abducted, including reports of children strangled to death.
• Dozens of women have been murdered, raped, or forced into sexual enslavement.
• Over 500 families have been driven from their homes.
• Elderly civilians have been detained, beaten, and publicly humiliated.
• Fighters have desecrated bodies and carried out beheadings.
• Homes, mosques, and schools have been deliberately destroyed.

Contrary to public speeches made by Syria’s new authorities about protecting Kurdish people’s rights, and with the open backing of the Turkish state, the Syrian regime and its allied militias are trying to erase the people and the political project of Rojava. This recent aggression raises serious fears that the atrocities committed by ISIS will be repeated.

Western governments that once relied on Rojava to defeat ISIS are now turning their backs, normalizing relations with Damascus in the name of “unifying Syria.”

Human rights are not negotiable. Rojava must be protected.