BEIRUT (AP) – Syria’s Kurds have imposed compulsory military service for their men to help ward off a push by Islamic extremists in the predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria, Kurdish officials said Thursday.
The move reflects rising anxiety among Syrian Kurds who fear the ongoing offensive by the Islamic State group in their region may potentially reverse gains made by their ethnic minority in the past three years.
Amid the chaos of the civil war in Syria, the Kurds – a long ostracized community – have made unprecedented gains, carving out their own semi-autonomous territory in northern Syria as overstretched government troops abandoned the region to focus on defending Damascus, President Bashar Assad’s seat of power.
The Syrian conflict started in March 2011 with Arab Spring-inspired protests against Assad’s rule but escalated into a civil war after his forces launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.
In November, the Syrian Kurds – who had long tried to stay out of the fight – declared their own civil administration in areas under their control, dividing it into the regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazeera.