Qamishli uprising

Culture of origin: Kurdish · Historical

Holiday sources: Kurdish

On 12 March 2004, at a football match in Qamishli between al-Fotuwa and al-Jihad, al-Fotuwa's fans, who had paraded through the city insulting Kurdish leaders and entered the stadium with clubs, knives and stones, attacked al-Jihad's supporters, and Assad's security forces opened fire on the al-Jihad crowd, killing four civilians. When thousands gathered for the funerals the next day, security forces fired on the mourners, and the protests spread to Amuda, Kobani, Afrin and other Kurdish cities, to Aleppo and to Damascus. Kurdish human-rights groups counted more than 30 dead and more than 2,000 arrested; 60 Kurdish students were expelled from Syrian universities. Every 12 March Kurds in north-east Syria commemorate the uprising, and the stadium has been renamed the 12 March Stadium.