Hasan al-Kassab

As Raqqa embarks on a future without the SDF, the northeastern Syrian city faces the delicate work of reintegrating former fighters and repairing social fractures left by years of shifting rule. 

Nearly a year after the fall of the Assad regime, some in SDF-held northeastern Syria await a “liberation” of their own amid an uptick in arbitrary arrests, including for supporting the new government.

Although the conscription policy imposed by the SDF in areas of its control was the direct incentive of protests in Syria’s northern city of Manbij last week, public discontent can be traced back to more deeply rooted drivers that threaten the northeast in general.  

Turkey’s blocking of the Euphrates River water flow threatens northeast Syria with multiple short- and long-term disasters

Syria is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections, and there is growing concern around just distribution and access to the life-saving vaccines.

Coalition bombings and IS attacks decimated Raqqa city’s infrastructure, including bridges. With bridges sitting in disrepair, Raqqa’s residents suffer from a transportation crisis.

The province contains 134 bridges and crossings. Some 66 of these were completely or partially destroyed by international coalition bombings or IS attacks.

In March and with no explanation, the Syrian regime closed four of the five crossings with the Kurdish-dominated AANES-administered areas, resulting in a spike in the prices of essential commodities in northeast Syria.

In January, 13 people were killed in al-Hol camp, controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)