ABSTRACT
The first Kurdish populations encountered by the French in Syria were those of Kurd Dagh toward the end of 1919, when French troops penetrated this mountainous region with relative ease. The establishment of a "Kurdish policy" by the mandatory power in Syria was a response to economic and political constraints faced by the French administration. While the Khoyboun committee sought to launch a military revolt in their "motherland” tribal chiefs and urban notables advocated for local autonomy within the Syrian framework. The failure of diplomatic initiatives by the Kurdish committees during Second World War led to a crisis in the Kurdish nationalist movement in Syria. In the early 1980s, external pressure compelled Hafiz al-Assad to take an interest in the Kurdish nationalist movement in Turkey. Syria's relations with the Kurdish parties in Iraq also suffered a major blow after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Consolidation of Kurdish identity and autonomy in Syria may seem unstoppable at the moment.
