ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday stated that he will be introducing legislation dubbed the “Save the Kurds Act” this week intended to impose “crippling sanctions” on any entity attacking the Kurds, as Damascus-aligned factions continue their offensive in Rojava (northeast Syria).

“I will be introducing legislation this week designed to impose crippling sanctions on any government or group engaged in hostilities against the Kurds,” Graham wrote on X, believing that the “Save the Kurds Act” will receive broad political support and “must have teeth to make it effective.”

The move comes amid a widescale military offensive targeting areas held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as Damascus-linked divisions rapidly advanced into territory the forces liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) a decade ago.

“It would be a disaster for America’s reputation and national security interests to abandon the Kurds,” he argued, stressing their role in overturning the ISIS caliphate alongside the US-led international coalition.

“The Kurds are under threat from the new Syrian government that is aligned with Turkey,” Graham stressed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech on Tuesday stated that there cannot be a “state within a state” or “separate armed forces” in Syria, rejecting the Kurdish authorities’ demands for political decentralization and military integration in the form of brigades rather than individually into the state army.

“I implore my Kurdish brothers and sisters, my fellow citizens, not to fall for the games aimed at striking a blow against our eternal brotherhood and sowing discord among us,” Erdogan added.

A large number of former ISIS fighters, as well as their families, were reported to have fled prisons previously held by the SDF, after the Kurdish-led force withdrew from the facilities amid continued shelling.

The attacks have also left the symbolic Kurdish city of Kobane besieged, leaving thousands without water, electricity, internet, and with a shortage of food and medicine. At least five have so far died in the city as a result of poor health and intense cold.

On Saturday, the Syrian defense ministry announced a 15-day extension to its ceasefire with the Kurdish-led SDF, but attacks by Damascus-aligned forces continue regardless.

Rojava’s authorities have described the campaign by Damascus as an “existential” war, issuing a call for “resistance” across all parts of Greater Kurdistan.