Raqqa

Ain Issa: SDF caught between military confrontation with Ankara and submission to Damascus’s demands

Jan 18,2021

Syrian child injured by landmine finds hope in sports

By targeting a Russian base in Raqqa, Hurras al-Din sends a multifaceted message

The Autonomous Administration launches new reforms to placate tribal elements

SDF continues to recruit child soldiers, despite pledges to stop the practice

LATEST FROM Raqqa

Turkey’s ‘Operation Peace Spring’ further splinters the Syrian opposition

October 13

The Turkish military operation has sparked a great deal of controversy among Syrians opposed to both the government and the PYD, including political entities and figures, intellec...

Russian pretexts at Assad's disposal

October 01

AMMAN—Although the reasons that led Russia to intervene militarily in Syria, on September 30, 2015, are “plentiful, complex and interrelated,” according to Taha Abdul Wahed, a Syr...

SDF arrest humanitarian workers in Raqqa, raising questions and concerns

August 19

AMMAN—Last week, a group of humanitarian workers was arrested in the northern city of Raqqa, by the Kurdish-led military alliance, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). While the arrest...

Suspected IS sleeper cells step up assassinations, attacks in eastern Syria after SDF ‘victory’ in Baghouz

March 27

Islamic State sleeper cells are assassinating local officials and laying roadside bombs across eastern Syria, where the militant group is exploiting a fragile security situation ...

Souriyeh / سوريّة: Women’s voices from Syria

February 21

For around five years, Judi Arash lived under siege in a bombed-out, encircled rebel-held area of northern Homs that, at one point, was restricted to just three square kilometers....

US allies in Syria left stunned by shock announcement of military withdrawal

December 20

US forces near Manbij in 2017. Delil Souleiman/AFP. AMMAN: US-backed factions and displaced Syrians in eastern Syria expressed “surprise” on Thursday over a shock dec...

Raqqa’s Arab tribes navigate ‘uneasy calm’ under SDF rule

November 13

A sheikh from the a-Sakhba tribe reads out a statement a few days after al-Huwaidi’s assassination. Photo courtesy of the Raqqa Civil Council. AMMAN: Basheer Faisal al...

One year after the expulsion of the Islamic State, civilians in Raqqa eke out an ‘existence among the rubble’

October 17

Passengers board Raqqa's ferry service before crossing the Euphrates in October. Photo courtesy of Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered. AMMAN: Every night after sundown, a q...

Cotton worms devastate Raqqa crops in latest blow to struggling agricultural sector

September 24

Farmers survey damage to the Raqqa cotton crop in July. Photo courtesy of Raqqa Civil Council. AMMAN: The white, fluffy buds that usually signal the beginning of the annual ...

What’s next for the millions of internally displaced Syrians? A month-long reporting series from Syria Direct

August 28

Rebel fighters and their families arrive in rural northern Aleppo in April. Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP. After seven years of war, one image in particular has become a potent symb...

PHOTO BRIEFS

In a city buried by rubble, Raqqa residents work to restore ‘life’ to ancient heritage sites

Tribal leaders agree to fight Islamic State in A-Raqqa

Record number of residents returning to Kobani

Turkish tanks at Syrian border

TWEETS

Tweets by @SyriaDirect