Solidarity with the Druze People of Syria: A Call for Justice and Democratic Transformation
The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) strongly condemns the recent campaign of violence and ethnic cleansing targeting the Druze community in southern Syria, broader Suwayda city. Over the past three days, horrific acts of violence — including the killing of civilians, the burning of homes, and the symbolic humiliation of Druze men by forcibly shaving their moustaches — have shocked the region. These assaults were not only physical but cultural: a targeted attempt to erase identity, dignity, and memory. They are grim reminders of the genocidal brutality once inflicted by ISIS in Sinjar and the siege of Kobanê.
The perpetrators of these crimes are reportedly affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an extremist armed group rooted in al-Qaeda ideology, which maintains effective control over large parts of northwest Syria. Their campaign of sectarian coercion and ideological dominance continues to threaten the survival of Syria’s multi-religious, multi-ethnic fabric.
What makes this atrocity even more alarming is the international political cover it appears to have received. Just days before these attacks, Tom Barrack — currently serving as the United States Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria — publicly expressed support for a “unified and centralised Syria” under the leadership of Ahmed al-Shaara (al-Julani), the de facto leader of HTS. Barrack, a former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump and a politically influential figure, has effectively lent diplomatic legitimacy to a faction that operates through sectarian repression and authoritarian control. His endorsement represents a dangerous shift: from cautious engagement to open acceptance of reactionary and anti-democratic forces in Syria.
Such legitimisation emboldens actors like al-Julani, whose interim government continues to persecute religious minorities, suppress women’s organisations, and silence independent civil society. The Syrian people, in all their diversity, will not accept any future imposed by warlords, extremists, or foreign-backed regimes. There can be no sustainable peace without justice, and no justice without democracy, pluralism, and decentralisation.
For over twelve years, the democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has embodied such a vision. Emerging from the grassroots, the AANES has built a functioning system of governance based on the principles of gender equality, ethnic and religious inclusion, ecological sustainability, and democratic self-governance. In the face of constant war and embargo, it has proven that a different Syria is not only possible but already underway.
The KNK believes that the way forward for Syria lies not in reviving centralist authoritarianism — whether secular or religious — but in embracing a model of decentralised administration that allows each community to govern itself democratically while remaining in dialogue with others. The repression of the Druze, the Alawites, the Christians, and the Kurds is part of the same violent refusal to accept this shared future.
We call on all international actors, particularly human rights organisations and democratic governments, to break their silence on the crimes committed against the Druze people and to challenge any normalisation of HTS-affiliated rule. Silence at this moment will not be neutral, it will be complicit.
The KNK stands with the Druze people, as with all communities resisting sectarian violence and domination. We honour the victims of this massacre, extend our deepest condolences to their families, and pledge to continue raising our voice until Syria finds a path to justice, dignity, and democratic co-existence.
Kurdistan National Congress (KNK)
Brussels, 16 July 2025
