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.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) estimates 120,000 people have been displaced from areas of northern Aleppo captured by Turkish-backed opposition factions this week.
Syrian opposition factions advanced rapidly and entered districts of Aleppo city on Friday in a shock offensive against regime forces, who unexpectedly retreated and lost strategic positions, including large parts of the M5 highway.
Property loss is among the most prominent repercussions of Syria’s 13-year conflict. Women are particularly affected, and face additional challenges to regaining their rights.
Syrians returning from Lebanon to opposition-held northwestern Syria find themselves in danger once more, as the area faces a military escalation by Russia and the Assad regime, alongside Syrian National Army (SNA) infighting.
Disabled women in northwestern Syria navigate additional challenges in accessing reproductive healthcare.
Digital violence is rampant in northwestern Syria, where women are particularly vulnerable to online blackmail and harassment by scammers, with little legal or social support.
The arrest of journalist Bakr al-Qassem last month brought renewed attention to Syrian National Army (SNA) prisons in northwestern Syria—particularly Hawar Kilis—and Turkey’s role in violations inside.
Women are notably absent from efforts by independent political formations to gain a foothold in opposition-held northwestern Syria, an area dominated by armed factions.
