Kurdish Groups in Germany Protest Outside Der Spiegel Offices

PUKMEDIA

Outside Der Spiegel’s offices, women displayed protest signs bearing strands of cut hair, symbolising their objection to the magazine’s coverage of the Kurdish cause.

Kurdish organisations in Germany have announced plans to hold a protest on Monday, 9 February 2026, outside the offices of the German magazine Der Spiegel, accusing the publication of taking a negative stance on the Kurdish issue in Western Kurdistan or Rojava (North and East Syria).

According to organisers, the demonstration is a response to recent reporting by Der Spiegel that they say misrepresents the situation in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria.

In an earlier report, the magazine claimed that Kurdish forces had rejected settlement and peace proposals put forward by Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. More recently, Der Spiegel published a report accompanied by an image of a fighter belonging to a pro-government factions holding a braid, suggesting that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) exploits social media to gain international support. The report also stated that the image was inaccurate and cautioned that content circulated on social media should not always be taken as factual.

The image is a screenshot from a footage circulated on social media showing a militant affiliated with Damascus displaying the cut off braid of a Kurdish female fighter after she was killed.

The video sparked a widespread campaign led by Kurdish women around the world, who have been sharing videos of themselves braiding their hair in solidarity with women fighters in Rojava.

Kurdish activists argue that such coverage by Der Spiegel undermines the Kurdish position in Western Kurdistan and contributes to misinformation. In response, they have called for a large demonstration to be held at 4:00 pm on Monday in front of Der Spiegel’s headquarters.

Fighting broke out between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo in early January, with both sides accusing each other of violating a ceasefire agreement.

Following intense clashes, Syrian government forces gained control of the area after fighting that reportedly killed dozens of civilians and displaced more than 150,000 people. Many of those displaced are currently sheltering in Kobani, which has been under a severe siege imposed by government forces for the past 20 days.

Government forces subsequently advanced towards Hasakah province before a new ceasefire was announced following mediation from the United States, France, and other international partners.

During the offensive, numerous videos circulated on social media, many of which were reportedly filmed by Syrian government personnel themselves. These recordings appear to document violations and war crimes committed during the operation.

One video shows a young man being arrested alive by government forces. Subsequent images shared online showed the same individual killed, with severe mutilation to his body, with his heart and one of his eyes ripped out from his body. The footage has prompted widespread outrage and condemnation from activists and human rights observers.

Another widely circulated video, which has drawn strong international criticism, shows the body of a female Kurdish fighter being thrown from the top of a building by armed militants identified as operating alongside Syrian government forces.

In the footage, a bearded fighter is seen laughing and embracing another militant as the body is thrown. The individual was later identified as Ahmed Mansour, an Egyptian national from Alexandria. According to open-source reports, Mansour is linked to extremist networks and joined hardline religious movements following Egypt’s 2011 revolution.

Egyptian researcher and journalist Islam Azaz al-Samti stated in a Facebook post that Mansour fled Egypt for Syria, where he appeared in several videos containing threats and incitement to violence. Al-Samti said Mansour’s recent appearance in the video connected to the killing of the Kurdish female fighter points to his involvement in cross-border extremist activities.

Other videos showed captives being called pigs and humiliated with racial slurs by the government-affiliated militants.



PUKMEDIA