Kurdish National Council Calls for Restoration of Historical Names in Afrin, Seeks National Committee to Review Issue

Welat TV – Erbil

The Kurdish National Council (KNC) on Sunday, September 6, 2026, called for the restoration of the historical names of villages and towns in Afrin, urging the formation of a specialized national government committee comprising academics and technocrats from Afrin and other areas to examine the issue of changed place names and restore the original names of villages, towns, cities, mountains, valleys, and rivers in a manner that preserves the language and identity of the area’s residents.

The demands were presented during a visit by a delegation from the Afrin local council of the KNC to the Afrin district administration, where the delegation met with District Director Khayro al-Ali and handed him a memorandum calling for the issue of changed names of villages, towns, and geographical sites to be addressed and their original historical names restored.

Afrin KNC Delegation Submits Memorandum

The delegation was headed by Ahmed Hassan and included Fahmi Abdo, Horo Osman, Ibrahim Mustafa, and Hussein Ibrahim. The memorandum addressed the issue of changes to the names of villages, towns, cities, and geographical landmarks across Afrin, along with a number of demands related to previous policies toward Kurds and ways of addressing their consequences during the new phase.

KNC: Name Changes Constitute Erasure of the Area’s Original Identity

In its memorandum, the Afrin local council of the KNC said that changing the names of villages, towns, cities, and geographical sites amounted to “erasing the original and geographical identity” of the area. It said that changes to place names in Afrin dated back to earlier periods and expanded under Baath Party rule.

According to the memorandum, Decree No. 580 of 1977, issued by the Syrian Interior Ministry, resulted in the renaming of 190 villages and towns in the Afrin area.

The new names were subsequently incorporated into official records, identity cards, and road signs. The delegation also pointed to changes to the names of some villages and geographical sites after 2018, saying that the alteration of place names continued during subsequent periods.

Call for Government Committee to Restore Original Names

The Afrin local council called on Syria’s new authorities to establish a specialized national government committee comprising academics and technocrats from Afrin and other parts of Syria to study the issue and restore the original names of villages, towns, cities, mountains, valleys, and rivers in a way that preserves the language and identity of the area’s residents.

The proposal seeks to address the issue of geographical names through an institutional process and reconsider names imposed on the region during previous periods.

Calls to Reverse Previous Policies and Restore Property

The Afrin local council’s demands extended beyond the issue of place names. Its memorandum also called for reversing the effects of previous policies toward Kurds, reviewing the consequences of agrarian reform and returning land and property to their owners.

It also called for Afrin and its subdistricts to be administered by people from the area’s various communities within Syrian state institutions and on the basis of equal citizenship and equal rights and obligations.

The local council said these demands form part of a broader vision for addressing issues affecting the region and ensuring that residents from all communities participate in managing its affairs through state institutions.

“Restoring Historical Names Is a National Entitlement and a Historical Right?"

The Afrin local council of the KNC said that “restoring historical names is a national entitlement and a historical right,” arguing that Syria’s new phase requires addressing the grievances and policies that affected the country’s various communities over previous decades. The KNC’s position is part of broader calls by Kurdish political actors for the restoration of historical Kurdish place names as part of addressing the legacy of previous policies and recognizing the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity.