SDC president calls 2004 Qamishli uprising 'basis of the Syrian popular revolution'

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – President of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Executive Committee Ilham Ahmed described the Mar. 12, 2004, Syrian Kurdish uprising as "the basis of the Syrian popular revolution" on its 18th anniversary on Saturday.

"The Mar. 12, 2004 uprising against the central Ba'athist regime, which began in al-Qamishli and spread to Aleppo and Damascus, is the common will of the Kurdish people and the basis of the Syrian popular revolution," Ahmed tweeted.

"We remember the martyrs of the uprising and see democratic change in Syria as important."

She was referring to the 2004 Kurdish uprising that broke out in the northeastern Syrian Kurdish city of Qamishli on Mar. 12, 2004. The rebellion began as a football riot sparked by Arab fans of a rival team who rose pictures of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to taunt the Kurds.

The riots quickly escalated into a general Kurdish uprising against the Syrian Ba'athist regime. Damascus responded by deploying the military, including tanks and helicopters, to crush the uprising. At least 30 Kurds were killed and many more injured and arrested.

By describing that event as "the basis of the Syrian popular revolution," Ahmed was referring to the March 2011 countrywide Syrian Revolution against President Bashar al-Assad that coincided with the region-wide Arab Spring revolutions and uprisings.

That uprising ultimately led to a prolonged civil conflict following a brutal and violent crackdown by Damascus.

The Syrian conflict enters its 11th year this month and has left hundreds of thousands of people dead in its wake.