six "rights" Syrian presidential decree 13 granted Kurds inside Syria

1- Naturalization of all citizens of Kurdish origin residing on Syrian territory, including those without civil registration, and the abolition of exceptional measures resulting from the 1962 census in Al-Hasakah Governorate.

2- The state guarantees the right of Kurdish citizens to revive their arts and heritage and to develop their language within the framework of national sovereignty.
3- The Kurdish language is considered a national language, permitted to be taught in public and private schools within areas that include a significant Kurdish population, as optional curricula or cultural educational activities.
4- Nowruz is a national holiday and an official paid day off in Syria.
5- Any discrimination or exclusion on ethnic or linguistic grounds is legally prohibited.
6- Syrian Kurds are an integral part of the Syrian people, and their identity is part of the Syrian national identity.

Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar’a issued Decree No. 13 on January 16, 2026, affirming the citizenship of Syrian Kurds, amid battles between the Syrian army and the SDF militia that spread from Aleppo to Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces.

The clashes between the two sides erupted following skirmishes and mutual accusations inside two Aleppo neighborhoods controlled by SDF-affiliated security forces known as Asayish.

The clashes included indiscriminate shelling of Aleppo city carried out by Asayish, which led to civilian deaths, following the collapse of negotiations for the militia’s integration into the Syrian government and army under the March 10 agreement between the two sides, brokered by the United States, after the expiration of its implementation period at the end of 2025.

Source: SANA.

Syria news report