Syria's northeast has not seen as much violence as other parts of the country during the 17-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.<br /><br />The region is mainly Kurdish, though there is a sizeable Arab population as well. Under Assad, the Kurds have had to deal with what they call the "Arabisation" of the area. <br /><br />They say that while some restrictions have been loosened since the protests began, they are not entirely supportive of the armed opposition.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid filed this exclusive report from Malikya, Syria.
