Long-suppressed by the Assad regime, the Kurdish language underwent an educational and cultural revival in Syria over the past decade. In the new Syria, its speakers refuse to lose ground and are fighting for recognition.
Returns to Afrin increased following agreements between the SDF and Damascus, with some villages seeing more than 80 percent of their displaced Kurdish residents return. Others are waiting for an organized return with security guarantees.
Syrians who lived in areas run by the Turkey-backed opposition Syrian Interim Government (SIG) before Assad fell last year face challenges related to the recognition of their official documents by the country’s new authorities.
An SDF-Damascus agreement is underway in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods, which could serve as a proving ground for the success of a broader agreement in northern Syria.
Little has changed for Afrin’s Kurds, despite Damascus’ security forces entering on February 7. Violations persist, with returnees finding fighters or civilians occupying their homes and demanding hundreds of dollars to leave.
Since the Assad regime fell, repeated local and international calls for the new government in Damascus to provide guarantees for Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities have sparked controversy and fueled hate speech.
Twenty people were killed and injured when an AANES-sponsored protest convoy approached an area of active fighting around Syria’s Tishreen Dam on Wednesday and was targeted by Turkish aircraft. What happened, and why?
Since Turkish-backed factions took control of northern Aleppo at the start of December, more than 70,000 displaced people have returned to Afrin and its countryside, while others fled to northeastern Syria fearing abuses.
With a newfound sense of collective ownership, Syrian volunteers clean streets, work to protect heritage sites and make meals for freed detainees and overworked doctors.
As HTS promises a new approach, Christians in Aleppo city are weighing assurances of protection against difficult memories. As opposition forces took control over the weekend, some fled, fearing the worst from Islamist factions.
