Three weeks on, little tangible progress has been made towards implementing the SDF-Damascus agreement, which faces a range of internal and external challenges.
Kurdish and Arab residents of northeastern Syria described joy at the fall of the Assad regime, while views of the new authorities in Damascus and the future of SDF-held areas range from optimism to trepidation.
Syria’s environmental challenges have been sidelined—overshadowed by more than 13 years of devastating conflict and instability—but delaying climate interventions is not an option, Haid Haid writes.
For US policy on Syria, this year’s election is largely a choice between a continued status quo under Vice President Kamala Harris and a return to the unpredictable foreign policy of former President Donald Trump.
Countryside roads in SDF-controlled northeastern Syria are a hunting ground for armed robbers targeting civilians and humanitarian workers. Repeated security incidents limit residents’ freedom of movement and cut into organizations’ limited funding.
Women in Hasakah city face harassment and exploitation by NGO-contracted water providers and private sellers who take advantage of their need for water.
Hasakah residents who cannot afford costly cooking gas rely on the babur, a traditional kerosene stove, risking death or injury because locally available fuel is impure and highly flammable.
In Hasakah, the tradition of making tannours is holding strong after years of war and bread crises increased demand for the traditional, wood-fired clay ovens used to bake at home.
Bombardment by Syrian regime forces and affiliated militias has killed and injured dozens of people in SDF-controlled villages and towns in Deir e-Zor since Iran-backed Arab tribal forces launched an attack on the eastern countryside six days ago.
Iran-backed Arab tribal forces attacked the US-backed SDF in Deir e-Zor this week, briefly overrunning security positions and sparking heightened security measures in neighboring Hasakah province amid fears of further escalation.
