Hundreds protest at Parliament against attacks on Kurds in Syria
Hundreds of Kurds demonstrated late Monday and overnight outside the Tweede Kamer in The Hague to protest violence in Syria, prompting the deployment of Dutch riot police due to the size of the crowd. Authorities said the protest remained peaceful and no arrests were made, even as reports emerged of renewed fighting in Syria despite a ceasefire.
Police said the Mobile Unit, the Netherlands’ riot police, was present from Monday night into early Tuesday “because of the size of the group.” A police spokesperson said the demonstration was calm throughout and there was no reason to intervene. As far as police were aware, no arrests were made. An ANP reporter reported that all demonstrators had left the area by about 7 a.m.
Regional emergency news site Regio15 reported that about 1,000 Kurds took part in the protest, which focused on the situation in Syria. Demonstrators gathered with flags, banners, and flyers and called on Dutch politicians to take action.
One flyer read, “Syrian children have been killed, Kurds have been killed. This is terrorism. Where is the European Union?” Another stated, “What Europe once called terrorism, it now finances with 620 million euros at the expense of Kurdish lives.”
According to Regio15, demonstrators said they would not leave until they had spoken with the mayor or the House speaker. Despite that demand, many protesters left during the night, District8, a local outlet, confirmed.
The protest followed recent fighting between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The SDF dominated northeastern Syria for nearly a decade, but over the past month—and especially last weekend—the Syrian army advanced into the region. Both sides fought over several provinces and cities in northeastern Syria, with the SDF losing a large part of its territory.
On Sunday, the Syrian government and the SDF agreed to a ceasefire. Despite the agreement's signing, reports of new fighting surfaced on Monday, particularly near prisons.
The agreement also states that the Syrian government will take control of Islamic State detainees and be responsible for their security, including foreign IS prisoners. That provision has raised international concerns, given the jihadist past of Syria’s new rulers.
