Fires still burned on the outskirts of Qamishli on Friday, eight days after the start of Kurdish-Arab riots that spread to three other north Syrian towns and killed 25 people. Faisal Youssef, an executive of the Progressive Kurdish Party, said the city, 450 miles northeast of Damascus, was returning to normal, but local Kurdish groups have canceled their celebrations to mark Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, which falls on Sunday. The festivities, which usually feature bonfires and folk dancing, will not take place "to prevent infiltrators from undermining historic relations between Kurds and Arabs," Youssef said Thursday by telephone.
Kurds in Syria, Iran, Turkey and Lebanon and Iranians mark Nowruz on March 21 every year. The feast, which symbolizes purification of the soul, dates back to the pre-Islamic religion of Zoroastrianism. Clouds of smoke that could be seen in neighboring Turkey rose from barns of fodder set alight last weekend during the riots, Youssef said. |