Syria’s Kurds After Assad

More than six months since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the fate of Syria’s Kurdish population remains uncertain. While new president Ahmed al-Sharaa declared a new interim constitution in March, the great unmentioned question was the Kurds’ place in the new state. Added to this is the ever-dangerous military situation. Air strikes from neighboring Turkey have multiplied in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria, driving thousands of families into exile.

On the Euphrates, the Tishrin Dam is the scene of clashes between the (mostly Kurdish-led) Syrian Democratic Forces and armed pro-Turkish groups, costing the lives of many civilians. At the same time, the jihadist threat is growing, and some 39,000 families accused of being affiliated with ISIS have taken refuge in the al-Hol camp in the north of the country. From Qamishli to Kobane, via Hasakah and Raqqa, the fate of the people of Rojava is more threatened than ever.

Over the last two years, photogropher and writer Angéline Desdevises has traveled through Turkey and Syria. In this photo series shot against the backdrop of the recent fall of the Assad regime, she portrays life in northeastern Syria after years of conflict.

Kobane, January 27, 2025. A child cries amid the rubble of a district of the city destroyed during the war against Da’esh (ISIS) in 2015.
A building that once belonged to the Ba’ath regime is now occupied by the Asayishs (the equivalent of the police). Posters of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad have been pulled off.
The Semalka border post between Iraqi Kurdistan and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Since the fall of the regime, Syrian families who took refuge in Iraq because of the civil war have been returning home.
In…

La suite est à lire sur: jacobin.com
Auteur: Angéline Desdevises

Pour l’actu indépendante

🌍 Soutenez l’info libre. Gardez OnePlanète vivant et sans pub
→ ko-fi.com/oneplanetecom

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com