People across North and East Syria marked the arrival of spring and a new year with the annual Newroz celebrations in late March. The Newroz holiday, which was celebrated by Kurds almost exclusively in secret during the Assad Regime’s rule, has become a prominent symbol of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and its embrace of the region’s diversity.
The occasion was marked across the entire region, with celebrations in their usual areas, including Kobani and Derik, but also taking place in Raqqa and the al-Omar area of Deir-ez-Zor. US Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Matthew Purl, along with dozens of personnel of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, joined General Commander Mazloum Abdi of the Syrian Democratic Forces in celebrating Newroz in the city of Hasakah. Delegations from all sectors of North and East Syrian society, including Syriac and Arab, joined the celebrations across the region as well.