Update: Coronavirus crisis in North and East Syria – week ending 13 September

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Our latest weekly report on the coronavirus crisis in North and East Syria: Over 100 health-workers in NES confirmed to have coronavirusKurdish Red Crescent raises alarm over false sense of securityHealth authorities try to overcome…

Explainer: The Religious Assembly and Academy for Democratic Islam

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The Autonomous Administration’s secular position on religion is laid out in the Social Contract, the founding document of the Democratic Federation of North and East Syria. The Social Contract states that public affairs are not to be conducted…

‘The regime blockade suffocates this region’ – Health worker on coronavirus crisis in Shehba region

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Health workers in the isolated enclave, home to 200,000 Kurdish IDPs, are struggling to deal with the outbreak Q: Is coronavirus spreading in Shehba? Frankly, it is very difficult to know if someone has coronavirus because the symptoms…

“This is the first time, after thousands of years, that our identity has been accepted and valued” – Eisha Sido, Yazidi Women’s Union of Afrin

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The Yazidi Women’s Union of Afrin works for the protection of the Yazidi culture and promotes the integration of Yazidi women in all spheres of society. Eisha Sido, member of the organization, explains how the establishment of the Autonomous…

After ISIS: Ensuring a future for Christians and other minorities in North and East Syria

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North and East Syria is both religiously and ethnically diverse. It is inhabited not only by (primarily Sunni Muslim) Arabs and Kurds, but also by Syriac-Assyrian Christians, Armenian Christians, Turkmen, Circassian, Alevi, Yezidi, Nawar…

Update: Coronavirus crisis in North and East Syria – week ending 6 September

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Our latest weekly report on the coronavirus crisis in North and East Syria finds: Detected coronavirus cases double in Euphrates region despite severe under-testingSlowdown in reported cases and deaths in worst-hit Jazira region and…

Report: US-Russian tensions and killing of top sheikh drive rise in ISIS sleeper cell and Syrian Government militia attacks

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  Coalition, SDF and AANES officials have all been meeting with tribal figures in Deir-ez-Zor in the context of rising tensions and security challenges Key Points - Assassination attempts doubled in August (7 to 14) including…

Just Security – Despite US Veto, Desperate ISIS Suspects and Families Remain at Risk

Original Article by Letta Tayler, Just Security, 04 September 2020 There is good news and bad news from the Aug. 31 United Nations Security Council vote on a dangerously flawed draft resolution on so-called “foreign terrorist fighters,”…

Fox News – ISIS launched more than 100 attacks in Iraq in August, a sharp uptick from previous month

Original Article by Hollie McKay, Fox News, 04 September 2020 The remnants of ISIS in Iraq claimed 100 attacks across the embattled country over the past month alone, according to an assessment by the Terrorism Research and Analysis…

Syria Direct – ‘A ticking time bomb’: COVID-19 spike catches northeast Syria unprepared

Original Article by Will Christou, Syria Direct, 31 August 2020 AMMAN — “It’s a ticking time bomb; we’re maybe a month behind Damascus in terms of the COVID outbreak.” This is how a western aid worker involved in the COVID-19 response…