Update December 4 – Northern Syria Offensive

Highlights - 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…

Targeting of journalists and obstruction of information-gathering by Turkey and the SNA in northern Syria

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Protestors hold placards condemning Turkey's targeting of journalists at the funeral of Nazim Dashtan and Cihan Bilgin, Qamishlo, 06.01.2025 [RIC] Press freedom under attack Threats and violence against journalists – particularly those…

Die türkische Offensive auf Manbij: Hintergründe und aktuelle Entwicklungen

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Manbij, eine strategisch wichtige Stadt in Nord- und Ostsyrien, steht erneut im Zentrum der Auseinandersetzungen. Die Türkei und ihre verbündete Syrische Nationalarmee (SNA) haben eine groß angelegte Offensive gegen die von den Syrischen…

Explainer: Turkish and SNA offensive on Manbij

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North and East Syria’s Manbij canton, in the north-east of the Aleppo region, is currently facing the threat of a large-scale offensive by Turkey and Turkish-backed SNA (Syrian National Army). For several years, Turkey has repeatedly stated…

Explainer: Thousands of Civilians Driven Out of Shehba

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IDPs from Shehba reach Tabqa, 04.12.2024 [RIC] What is the current situation in Shehba? Since December 1, tens of thousands of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have been driven out of the Shebha region due to aerial and ground attacks…

Explainer: Kurdish neighborhoods besieged in Aleppo

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Two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, are currently besieged by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) following the Islamist force’s unexpected advances and capture of Syria’s second-largest city from Bashar al-Assad’s…

Explainer: General Amnesty Law

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The Democratic People’s Council of the DAANES issued the General Amnesty law no. 10 on July 17th, 2024, in response to the demands of tribal leaders during the 2nd Syrian tribes' forum. The latter was held in Heseke on May 25th and attended…

The Occupied areas are heating up- Reconciliation and ongoing protests

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Summary:  All diplomatic ties between Syria and Turkiye were severed after the Syrian uprising in 2011. In 2022, the two states officially began a process of rapprochement and Erdogan declared in June 2024 that there were no obstacles…

“When we say defense, most people think of weapons, but this is not all” – HPC, North and East Syria’s Civil Defense Forces

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HPC members guarding community croplands near Heseke, June 2023 Introduction While North and East Syria’s (NES) Women’s and People’s Defense Units (the YPJ and YPG) have taken worldwide headlines for their role in…

DAANES’ Social Contract, 2023 Edition

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In October 2013, the first talks to begin sketching a “Social Contract” for the newly-autonomous regions in northern Syria began and the outcomes were presented to the region’s people for their analysis. During 2014,  over 50 organizations…

Explainer: Deir ez-Zor

  Abu Khawla, leader of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council. On the 27th of August, with the advent of a "Security Enhancement Operation" in the Deir ez-Zor area, reportedly targeting ISIS sleeper cells and drug dealers, the Syrian Democratic…