“We might come suddenly one night.” These are the words President Erdogan has used many times when referring to the renewed ground invasion of North and East Syria he has long sought after. They are essential in understanding that he has not been waiting for a pretext to attack ourContinue Reading
They say that all that is required for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. Will the world act to prevent another unprovoked military invasion of US allied territory in Syria? Turkey is threatening a large-scale armed invasion into North and East Syria, a region I callContinue Reading
ISIS is still international, and as such the ISIS issue remains international. So long as the al-Hawl detainee camp and other facilities housing ISIS detainees exist, ISIS will continue to exist. The United Nations Special Representative for Iraq Jeanine Hennis visited North and East Syria’s infamous al-Hawl Camp as partContinue Reading
People must be allowed to return to their own homes, not homes owned by other Syrians who are themselves internally or externally displaced. Demographic change that amounts to ethnic cleansing will only exacerbate the sectarian nature of the conflict and lead to further issues.Continue Reading
Since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February, the headlines have been dominated by images of war-torn Ukrainian cities, burnt out tanks, and cruise missile strikes. A major European war for the first time since the Second World War has shocked the world. However, the effectsContinue Reading
ISIS will not be defeated by force of arms alone. While the efforts to dismantle ISIS cells must continue, the issues of accountability and economic crisis must be addressed as well.Continue Reading
Since the beginning of the Syrian Revolutionary Movement, the Turkish occupation state has been keen to support Islamist groups in an effort to Islamicize Syrian society, under the command of the Muslim Brotherhood. Continue Reading
As a persecuted religious and ethnic minority in Syria, they are now uniting around constitutional recognition of universal principles — ethnic and identity rights.Continue Reading
Let us hope that ISIS members do not succeed in a large-scale prison break, which could lead to more atrocities in the Middle East, the West, Europe – or even the United States.Continue Reading
If Turkey left Afrin, it would be back in the good democratic hands of North and East Syria, and the region could again be home to an inspiring flourishing of a new type of democratic culture in the Middle East.Continue Reading
During the past six years since ISIS was driven out of Kobani, the AANES has worked tirelessly to rebuild and provide for the people. Their resilience is what allows the city to be where it is today. Continue Reading
Our Syrian Constitution should be based upon the future of Syria, not our past. It should propel us forward to a democratic Syria — one based on pluralism, diversity, human rights, feminism, decentralization, and religious freedom — our highest dreams.Continue Reading
What we heard from US officials was hopeful. They know that the partnership between the United States and our region should be protected and supported.Continue Reading
If we remain excluded, democratic Syria may just refuse to accept the results of the peace talks. We must be included if these talks are expected to succeed.Continue Reading
Many are joining in the wishful thinking for a Kabul encore in North and East Syria. But this will never happen before a genuine peace treaty is established that transcends what is falsely projected as an internal Syrian affair.Continue Reading
If stabilization and development assistance were taken more seriously, we would be well positioned to prevent another ISIS resurgence in the region formerly claimed by ISIS as their “caliphate.”Continue Reading
When everyday people do not even have water to drink, farmers do not have water for their fields. Wheat crops are failing.Continue Reading
“I hope the Syrian Kurds and their local partners continue to prioritize their friendship with the US, and their relations with the relatively successful autonomous Kurdistan Region right across the border in Iraq.”Continue Reading
I found true democracy in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Syrian Democratic Council… None of this was apparent in 2011, when the Syrian civil uprising caused me to become a political refugee, fleeing my home with only a laptop and the clothes on my back.Continue Reading
Authoritarian governments seek to silence critics and jail the opposition. Democracies protect the human right to free speech.Continue Reading
Turkey seeks to make it impossible for the Kurdish people to return to their homes by settling new people in the region. When will it become clear to the international community that this is exactly what genocide looks like?Continue Reading
One boy stops and speaks to the reporter directly. He appears to be about seven years old. “When I grow up, I will behead you,” he says. Why? Because she is a woman who does not follow ISIS ideology.Continue Reading
Erdogan supports violence against women in Turkey, women in Syria, Kurds in Afrin, and elsewhere. Will the United States shore up its principles, and match words with action?Continue Reading
Still, being a Kurdish writer is about rebirth and resistance. The precarious life of Kurds has traveled through history and will continue to do so. If I do what I know how to do, at the very least, I can show that even in the age of nation-states, stateless Kurds matter and we are as complicated, important, imperfect, funny, and fascinating as any other group of humans.Continue Reading
There are many threads, colors, and materials necessary to create the breathtaking pattern of our society. The region of North and East Syria is a part of the tapestry.Continue Reading
Six years ago, the Assyrian Christians of the Khabour villages in Syria were undergoing a brutal attack by ISIS. The villagers were brutalized, detained, and held for ransom. Many doubted they would survive the ordeal.Continue Reading
2021 is the year that the people of North and East Syria are calling upon the international community for inclusion in talks on the future of Syria. We ask to be recognized as a key player in the solution to the Syrian crisis.Continue Reading
The radical inclusion of our co-leadership model is the step that the women of our region needed. No matter what happens to our model, we will endure as an inspiration and an example of what happens when women claim their power.Continue Reading
In 2014, the people of North and East Syria fought to defend their homeland, but they also fought for an idea: democracy. Today, the struggle for true democracy continues.Continue Reading
Human rights violations are committed each day. Our people live in fear. The bombs and the violence never stopped. “Ceasefire” seems like nothing more than an empty word, a word that means nothing to Turkey.Continue Reading
By Sinam Sherkany Mohamad Water is the source of life. To North and East Syria, there is no source of water more vital than the Euphrates river. The Euphrates river has been used to power critical hydroelectric dams, irrigate farmland, provide transportation, maintain the many ecosystems of the region, andContinue Reading
By Syrian Democratic Times In its first-ever webinar, the US Mission of the Syrian Democratic Council hosted a discussion titled “The Future of North and East Syria” on July 20, 2020 with the Program on Peacebuilding and Human Rights at Columbia University. CLICK HERE to view a video of theContinue Reading
By Issa Ibrahim, Special Contributor to the SDT Eleven points, in my opinion, define the features of Syria, a country worthy of normal life, which expresses that we Syrians are part of this world, and it places us as human beings and as a country on the path of urbanization:Continue Reading
The women’s movement in North and East Syria works every day to fight all of the forms of violence that women and girls face. Continue Reading
Seven measures to enhance social cohesion as part of a transition to a democratic system that will allow our nation to move forward in harmony.Continue Reading
Those who kidnap and torture the women of Syria today should not be allowed to call for support at the UN tomorrow.Continue Reading
North and East Syria provides an example of the solidarity ethos, seeking to cooperate both within and across its borders.Continue Reading
We call upon the international parties to show solidarity with us in order for our people return to their homes, for the occupier to leave our lands…Continue Reading
Procrastination in holding Erdogan accountable is enabling him and his thugs to victimize more Syrian Kurds.Continue Reading
“Turks who call the SDF terrorists unleashed Turkish backed rebels who in many ways act the same as IS did.”Continue Reading
“This common threat cynically laughs at our borders and fortresses…”Continue Reading
A dire humanitarian situation is being compounded by deliberate political choices.Continue Reading
The values that allow us to survive Coronavirus will govern the world.Continue Reading
The seeds are planted for a pluralistic, feminist, and democratic economy — and also a democratic society.Continue Reading
The women’s movement of North and East Syria is an example to the world.Continue Reading
The social contract of the Syrian Democratic Council guarantees religious freedom.Continue Reading
We are fighting for democracy and justice against the greatest evils of our time.Continue Reading
What better chance for all concerned parties to work hand in hand toward Syria’s resurrection?Continue Reading
We hope that the international community will end its silence on the Turkish occupation of Afrin.Continue Reading
The people of our region do not work together because of fear, threats, or any other external factor, but rather because of a shared dream of peace, stability and coexistence.Continue Reading