A new integration agreement between Damascus and the SDF is underway in northeastern Syria, but major obstacles remain—from diverging interpretations of the deal to the deep influence of the PKK-linked “Qandil current.”
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.
Diminished by drought, the olive harvest is underway in Syria’s Kurdish-majority Afrin. Residents report fewer violations than in years past, but remain wary of the new authorities.
Longstanding disputes between the two largest Syrian Kurdish political blocs stymie efforts to form a unified political vision and send a delegation to negotiate with the transitional government in Damascus.
SDF-held Raqqa city is tense, its nights under curfew punctuated by gunfire and arrests. Residents feel cut off from the rest of Syria, fearing the possibility of partition and a return of IS.
US support for the SDF in 2023 clashes in Deir e-Zor has provided Iran with a critical opportunity to expand its influence in Syria, researcher Ömer Özkizilcik writes.
After facing major local, regional and international pushback—including a Turkish threat to invade northeastern Syria—the AANES postponed municipal elections scheduled for this week until August, citing “internal” reasons and "the demands of the political parties and alliances participating."
In northern Syria’s Kobani, a border city facing Turkish shelling and continuous threats of a ground assault, many residents are trying to sell their property to pay for a way out. With the city’s future uncertain, there are few buyers.
Bombings across northern Syria this month—by the Syrian regime and Russia against the HTS-controlled northwest, and by Turkey in the SDF-controlled northeast—have something in common: killing civilians and damaging infrastructure.
Ground shelling continued on Friday after days of heavy Turkish airstrikes on territory held by Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, while Turkish President Erdoğan renewed his vow to launch a long-threatened ground operation in northern Syria
