SDF
Liberty and Loss
As Syria's new state works through a backlog of detainee cases, hundreds who were imprisoned by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been released, including children. But some families are still waiting.
Divided We Stand
Despite a landmark agreement between Syria’s new government and Kurdish-led factions, the country remains fractured and vulnerable to jihadist resurgence. Negotiations over security coordination and political integration have stalled amid deep mistrust, while Islamic State group attacks and U.S. pressure increase.
After a Century, the Question of the Kurds’ Place in Syria Remains Unresolved
Since the end of the Ottoman era a century ago, the question of the Kurds’ place in Syria has been shaped by a complex history of integration, separatism, oppression and struggle. It suggests that the recent deal between the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus may prove to be fragile.
The Changeling of Deir ez-Zor
He was not a jihadist, although he’d been called one when convenient. When he joined “the Kurds,” he automatically became a “fighter for women’s empowerment and the rights of the dispossessed Kurds.” He was neither. And neither are so many other Syrian Arabs from the eastern part of the country.