ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Sunday firmly rejected accusations of separatism, asserting that it has never called for secession, despite what has been claimed by some Syrian officials.
In a statement on X, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) emphasized that since its establishment, it “has not issued a single official statement calling for secession” from the Syrian state.
The administration censured “accusations of separatism” as “not based on factual evidence” and not reflective of its “declared position.”
The sharp statement notably follows remarks by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who warned mid-September that "if northeast Syria [Rojava] wants to move towards some kind of partition,” it would negatively impact neighbouring Iraq and Turkey.
"Syria will not give up a single grain of its soil,” he added.
In August as well, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted an unnamed “Syrian government official” as criticizing a unity conference held in Rojava. The event, which brought together more than 400 members of Syria’s minority groups, was described as contradictory to Damascus’s “One Syria” policy.
The source accused the organizers of “hosting separatist figures” and described the event as “an attempt to internationalize the Syrian issue and attract foreign interventions.”
The official’s remarks came despite attendees at the conference affirming that Syria’s “diversity is not a threat but a treasure that enhances unity.”
Elham Ahmad, co-chair of foreign relations in the DAANES, stated during the event that its goal was to lay the foundations for reformulating the Syrian state “based on equality in citizenship, an inclusive non-exclusionary identity and accountable authority, balanced in rights and duties.”
In a July interview with Rudaw, Ahmad had dismissed the claims that the Kurdish-led administration seeks division, affirming, “The idea of Kurdish separation was never uttered by anyone [from the DAANES]. It is not in anyone's intention,” she said.
Ahmad also criticized attempts to conflate people’s demands for rights as a push for “separation.”