Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree Friday declaring Kurdish a national language, in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture toward the minority following recent clashes.

The decree marks the first formal recognition of Kurdish national rights since Syria gained independence in 1946.

It states that Kurds are “an essential and integral part” of Syria, where they have endured decades of marginalization and repression under previous governments.

The decree allows Kurdish to be taught in public schools in areas where the minority population is heavily concentrated.

Sharaa also designated the Kurdish new year, Nowruz, which falls on March 21, as an official holiday and granted nationality to Kurds, about 20% of whom were stripped of citizenship under a disputed 1962 census.

In a televised address, Sharaa urged Kurds to “actively participate in building this nation,” pledging to guarantee their rights.

Impasse

The announcement came as efforts stalled to implement a March agreement to integrate the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration in the north into the Syrian state.

Senior Kurdish political figure Salih Muslim said he viewed the decree as “an attempt to evade the rights of the Kurdish people and to divide them.”

The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces control large parts of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast, seized during the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group.

Syria’s population of about 20 million includes roughly two million Kurds, including 1.2 million in the northeast, according to Syria expert Fabrice Balanche.

The Islamist-led government is seeking to extend authority nationwide following the ouster of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

Kurdish forces were pushed out of two neighborhoods in Aleppo last week by the Syrian army.

Battles

The army then sent reinforcements near Deir Hafer, about 50 kilometers east of Aleppo, ordering Kurdish fighters to withdraw.

SDF leader Mazloum Abdi said on X that after appeals from friendly countries and mediators, forces would pull back east of Aleppo and redeploy east of the Euphrates.

The defense ministry welcomed the move, saying government troops would deploy to vacated areas.

Earlier Friday, an SDF spokesman said a delegation from the U.S.-led coalition met with commanders in Deir Hafer. That evening, the Syrian army struck what it described as Kurdish positions in the town. The SDF said Deir Hafer was under heavy artillery fire.

Civilians fleeing

The army had given civilians a deadline to leave before launching attacks, with Syrian authorities saying at least 4,000 people fled.

A similar warning was issued last week in Aleppo before shelling Kurdish-held districts. Journalists saw civilians crossing a makeshift bridge over a branch of the Euphrates River.

“The SDF stopped us from leaving — that’s why we used farm roads and crossed the bridge,” said Abu Mohammad, 60, who fled with relatives. Residents have been escaping along back roads since Thursday.

Authorities extended the evacuation deadline to Friday, accusing the SDF of blocking civilians from leaving, a charge the group denied. On Sunday, government forces took full control of Aleppo after capturing two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods.