As Raqqa embarks on a future without the SDF, the northeastern Syrian city faces the delicate work of reintegrating former fighters and repairing social fractures left by years of shifting rule.
The SDF’s sudden withdrawal has ushered in a new reality for Syrians in Deir e-Zor and Raqqa, where many are optimistic despite uncertainty about the days ahead.
A four-day ceasefire marks the latest effort to integrate SDF and Syrian government forces and avoid a dangerous military showdown, but its success hinges on each side’s willingness and ability to commit to the political process.
Once scattered and safeguarded abroad, Syria’s native seeds are taking root once more, part of an organic revival aimed at restoring the country’s agricultural heritage.
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.
Three weeks on, little tangible progress has been made towards implementing the SDF-Damascus agreement, which faces a range of internal and external challenges.
Syrians welcomed news of a landmark agreement to integrate Kurdish-led forces into state institutions on Monday, hoping it would prevent bloodshed and prevent any partition of the country, while “the devil is in the details” of its implementation.
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.
Several commanders defected from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir e-Zor in recent days, amid demonstrations and simmering anger in the SDF-held countryside.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) estimates 120,000 people have been displaced from areas of northern Aleppo captured by Turkish-backed opposition factions this week.
