WASHINGTON, DC - US lawmakers on Wednesday told Rudaw they are intensifying calls to support and protect the Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava), voicing support for veteran Senator Lindsey Graham’s announcement that he will champion the “Save the Kurds Act” in the Senate later this week.
Senator Graham announced on Tuesday he “will be introducing legislation this week designed to impose crippling sanctions on any government or group engaged in hostilities against the Kurds."
Dubbing the bill “The Save the Kurds Act,” the influential American lawmaker added, "I believe [the bill] will receive strong bipartisan support and must have teeth to be effective."
Several senators from both Democratic and Republican camps told Rudaw they support Graham’s push, underscoring bipartisan concern over the security of the Kurdish community and forces in Syria.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told Rudaw that the house of representatives is actively working to safeguard the Kurds, stating, “I believe we need to protect the Kurds in Syria and take action to ensure they are protected from any retribution or revenge by the Syrian government.
The prominent politician further urged stronger action from President Donald Trump’s administration, stressing that the United States has “an obligation” to the Kurds. He argued this obligation stems from Washington’s long-standing cooperation with Kurdish forces, an indirect reference to the partnership between the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Kurdish-led SDF serve as the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava) and for more than a decade were the coalition’s primary on-the-ground ally in Syria, playing a crucial role in the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019.
Blumenthal noted that he is working “with colleagues on potential legislation that would help protect the Kurds.”
The lawmakers’ remarks come against the backdrop of a large-scale offensive launched in mid-January by the Syrian Arab Army and allied armed groups to seize territory held by the SDF in northern Syria and Rojava. These areas are among those the Kurdish-led forces liberated from ISIS following the group’s declaration of its so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2014.
Syrian government forces and affiliated militants have pushed into former SDF-held areas in Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa, as well as near the Kurdish-majority province of Hasaka in eastern Rojava, displacing an estimated 100,000 people - mostly Kurds - according to United Nations figures.
Lawmakers described the Kurds as strong allies of the United States and said reports of ongoing violations have deeply concerned them, prompting calls on the Syrian government to halt the attacks and pursue dialogue.
Democrat Senator Chris Coons told Rudaw, “I am very concerned about the security and safety of our Kurdish partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces,” adding that it is "urgent that [Syrian interim President Ahmed] al-Sharaa's government stop their advance [into Kurdish-held regions] and negotiate an appropriate path for the Kurds.”
Alongside pressure from the US house of representatives and senate, the US administration has brokered a temporary ceasefire between Damascus and the Kurdish-led forces, which was extended to 15 days on Saturday after the initial four-day period expired.
The ceasefire is intended to allow the safe transfer of ISIS detainees, previously held in SDF-secured prisons in northern and northeastern Syria, to neighboring Iraq. It is also designed to provide space for accelerated negotiations between the interim Syrian government and the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava.
