ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Grief and anger spilled into the streets of Qamishli on Wednesday, as hundreds of residents marched through the northeastern Syrian city demanding answers about the fate of loved ones who vanished last month at the hands of armed factions aligned with Damascus, during their fighting against Kurdish-led forces.
The demonstrations come amid mounting fears that nearly 2,000 people - civilians and fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - are missing and unaccounted for.
An official from the Kurdish-led SDF, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Rudaw that the scale of the disappearances is far greater than initially believed.
Many of the missing are believed to be SDF fighters who surrendered during intense clashes. Kurdish officials repeatedly accused Damascus of violating ceasefire agreements that were intended to guarantee safe and orderly withdrawals.
“America, which today is not fulfilling its duty as a guarantor, was itself a witness to the agreement signed with comrade Rohilat in Deir Hafer, which stipulated a withdrawal within 48 hours,” said Yousif Kute, spokesperson for the families of missing individuals.
The agreement referenced by Kute was reportedly reached in Deir Hafer, one of the first areas to fall under Damascus control after Kurdish forces pulled back toward eastern regions of the Euphrates.
Rohilat Afrin, commander-in-chief of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), had been a signatory to the deal. The YPJ - the all-women’s wing of the People's Protection Units - has played a central role in the decade-long fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
“But the Damascus government violated that agreement,” Kute said. “The morning before our children could withdraw, they were surrounded.”
The disappearances followed fierce confrontations in early January around Aleppo, after negotiations to integrate Kurdish fighters into Syrian state institutions collapsed. The violence killed and displaced thousands, marking the most serious escalation since Damascus intensified efforts to reassert control across the country following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
In the weeks that followed, Damascus-backed factions pushed eastward, seizing strategic towns and oil and gas fields, and advancing toward Raqqa and Hasaka. A ceasefire brokered in late January allowed Kurdish forces to withdraw and paved the way for Syrian government deployments.
For families in Qamishli, however, the political maneuvering offers little comfort.
At Wednesday’s protest, mothers clutched photographs of their sons, their voices breaking as they pleaded for international intervention.
“For God’s sake, they are in the hands of the enemy. We die a hundred times a day. Come to our aid,” one mother cried.
“Please bring our young men back to us. We have died, we have died, and no one knows our plight.”
Among them was Halima Nabi, who said she last heard her son’s voice on January 17. He had been stationed in Deir Hafer.
“He was there for two days,” she said, her voice trembling. “On the third day, he disappeared.”
Nabi appealed directly to President Masoud Barzani, urging him to use his influence to uncover the truth.
Additioal reporting by Vivyan Fatah from Qamishli.