
Update December 4 – Northern Syria Offensive
NewsHighlights
- As displaced families continue to pour in to NES, the DAANES estimates that numbers of IDPs will soon reach 120,000.
- Critical shortages of essential supplies, food, water, medicines and accommodation for IDPs.
- SNA commits…

Translation: Reforms announced in response to Syrian Democratic Council public consultations
Focus, Translations
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) this year held 13 public consultations across all the contiguous regions of North and East Syria (NES). Along with ordinary civilians then Kurdish and Arabic opposition groups, Arab tribal representatives,…

Report: ISIS sleeper-cell attacks down, Hol Camp and Deir-ez-Zor remain flashpoints
News, Report, Sleeper Cells
An Iraqi IDP caught in the crossfire during an attempted ISIS shooting in Hol Camp, November 2020 (Picture credit: NPA)
Key Points
Overall attacks decreased 11% (51, 45) in October, with 69% of those attacks taking place in Deir-ez-Zor…

National Interest – Bashar al-Assad is struggling for influence in North and East Syria
Media Coverage, News
Original op-ed by RIC's Thomas McClure, The National Interest, 29 October 2020.
The October 2019 ‘deal’ between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Government was poorly-understood from the outset. Foreign…

VICE – Kurdish Women Are Working the Land to Achieve Financial Independence
Media Coverage, News
Original article by Rachel Hagan, VICE, 12 September 2020.
Ahin Hassan’s family were angry when she decided to get a job. Her parents expected the 22-year-old to stay at home and focus on her domestic duties. They warned her that…

Providence – To Protect Syria’s Christians, Erdogan Must be Stopped
Media Coverage, News
Original op-ed by RIC's Thomas McClure, Providence, 26 October 2020
Extremists are slowly extinguishing of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities, while the world remains largely silent.
The Syrian regime first repressed…

The National Interest – The Problem with Turkey’s Proxy Militias Isn’t Just Military
Media Coverage, News
Original article by Michael Rubin, The National Interest, 9 November 2020
National leaders are learning that relying on Turkish-backed forces comes at a serious political and diplomatic costs.
by Michael Rubin
Turkish-backed…

Explainer: Cooperatives in North and East Syria – developing a new economy
Explainers, Focus
Currently, North and East Syria (NES) faces enormous economic difficulties: rampant inflation, a partial embargo, war and the draining of resources by occupying Turkish forces in Sere Kaniye, Tel Abyad and Afrin. In this crisis context,…

Explainer: Why is Turkey arresting its own proxy council members in Afrin?
Explainers
Thousands of Kurds have been disappeared by Turkish forces in Afrin, but arrests targeting Turkey's own political apparatus are unusual (file photo, al-Andalou)
Why is Turkey arresting its own proxy council members in Afrin?Mass arrests,…