Kurds in Syria celebrate the Nowruz festival of spring

(20 Mar 2026) SYRIA NOWRUZ SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTION SUMMARY: LENGTH: 2:39 ASSOCIATED PRESS Amuda – 18 March 2026 1. Families gathered outside the city, dressed up for Nowruz 2. People taking selfies in open land 3. People heading to celebration place ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 4. People waiting to light up their torches 5. Various of people lightening up torches 6. Various of people carrying torches and climbing hill 7. Big fire lit up in the site in celebration 8. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Shilan Khedhir, participant from Qamishli: “Fire represents a legacy for the Kurds, and we will never forget this legacy or let it die. We are aware that there is a sadness in Rojava. We know there are prisoners and martyrs. We take in consideration all of these, but we say that Nowruz emerged from sadness. I mean the story of Nowruz was a tragedy, but they light the fire and started dancing. Therefore, today again, we emerge from sadness and shout loud that we exist, and we continue our dancing.” 9. Various of people dancing around fire 10. Wide of the fire in the middle of celebration site 11. Various of people participating in the dance 12. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Alin Mohammed, participant from Qamishli: “We have been preparing for this day. We prepared torches, the Nowruz fire, and these things. We also have many guests from outside. Today, we have a large crowd here and we are very happy for that. We, the girls and boys of Qamishli lit up the Nowruz fire with the help of Qamishli municipality and I want to thank them. We congratulate all Kurdish people in the world for Nowruz, thank you.” 13. Various of people dancing around fire 14. Various of torches, fireworks, and celebrations in Amuda STORYLINE: Hundreds of Syrian Kurds celebrated ahead of the Kurdish Nowruz spring festival on Wednesday in Amuda in northeastern Syria. It marked the first celebration after the Kurds’ agreement with the Syrian government forces. Nowruz, the Farsi-language word for “new year,” is an ancient Persian festival that is celebrated in countries including Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. It is characterized by colorful open-air festivals and torch-bearing processions winding their way into the mountains. “Fire represents a legacy for the Kurds, and we will never forget this legacy or let it die,” Shilan Khedhir, a participant from Qamishli. Kurds in Syria were marginalized during the five decades of Assad family rule, with many denied citizenship and wrongly described as Arabs. Last year, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a decree strengthening the rights of Syria’s Kurdish minority, including recognizing Kurdish as a national language along with Arabic and adopting Nowruz as an official holiday. The decree also restored the citizenship of tens of thousands of Kurds in northeastern al-Hasakeh province after they were stripped of it during the 1962 census. Crowds lit up fires and carried torches, participated in Kurdish group dancing, and sang at an open land dark area outside the city. Women wore colorful traditional clothing, waving Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s flags. Millions of Kurdish people celebrate Nowruz on March 21 -- the first day of spring. The festival has political importance as it symbolizes Kurdish culture and the struggle of the Kurds to have their own autonomous nation. Kurds make up about 10% of Syria’s population. AP video by Hogir el Abdo =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...