Rally in Hasakah and a wave of reactions; Warning about the escalation of ethnic tensions

According to KurdPress, on Friday, October 2, at the same time as Friday prayers, a number of Arab residents of the Ghuwairan neighborhood and its surrounding areas in the city of Hasakah participated in a rally that started in front of the Abu Bakr Siddiq Mosque and continued towards the city center and the main square of Hasakah.The protesters called for an increase in the presence of the Syrian interim government, the activation of government institutions, the establishment of security in different parts of the province, and the acceleration of the process of integrating forces and institutions affiliated with the SDF into government structures. The official Syrian Arab News Agency also announced that the participants called for the deployment of internal security forces in different parts of the province, an end to what it called “violations of rights,” and the acceleration of the process of integrating the SDF into government institutions.

The rally was held in a situation where the issue of how to implement the understanding between the Syrian interim government and the SDF and the future of the military, security, and administrative structures in northern and eastern Syria is still under discussion. The January 29, 2026 agreement had set a framework for stopping the fighting and starting the process of integrating institutions and forces affiliated with the autonomous administration into the structures of the Syrian government, and the issue of implementing the details of this agreement remains one of the main issues of dispute and discussion between the parties.During the Hasakah rally, a number of participants in Al-Salam Square pulled down and burned a Kurdish flag. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that this action took place in the presence of security forces. Prior to the rally, calls had been issued that, in addition to calling for the entry of Syrian government forces into various areas of Hasakah and opposing the integration process, in some cases contained racist expressions against the Kurds and even a call for the expulsion of the Kurds from Hasakah.

However, sources who reported on the main event of the rally emphasized that the demands raised at the rally were not limited to ethnic issues. The official Syrian News Agency and Al Jazeera reported that the protesters wanted to strengthen the presence of government institutions, ensure security, activate public and judicial services, and accelerate the process of integrating the SDF into government institutions.Therefore, the reported burning of Kurdish flags and anti-Kurdish slogans cannot be automatically attributed to all participants or all demands of the rally.