Latest news with #AutonomousAdministration
Shafaq News
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
240+ Iraqi families repatriated from Syria's Al-Hol camp
Shafaq News/ A convoy of 241 Iraqi families, totaling over 860 individuals, was repatriated from Syria's Al-Hol camp on Tuesday. The convoy marks the eighth return in 2025 and the 25th such operation since the process began, Shukri al-Hajji, head of the camp's departure office, confirmed. The families' convoy, transported in 20 buses, crossed into Iraq via the Al-Yarubiyah border crossing in eastern Hasakah province, escorted by US armored vehicles under tight security coordinated by the Global Coalition. 'This year's efforts focus on relocating Iraqi families who wish to return, in coordination between the Autonomous Administration and the Iraqi government,' Al-Hajji told Shafaq News. In late March, 186 Iraqi families, totaling 681 people, also left Al-Hol camp and returned to Iraq. Since 2021, the Iraqi government, in collaboration with international organizations, has been executing a plan to bring displaced Iraqis back from Al-Hol. Returnees are received at the Jadaa camp, where they undergo social and psychological rehabilitation. However, the repatriation process continues to face local opposition, especially from families of ISIS victims in Nineveh province, who express concern about reintegrating these returnees into their communities.
Shafaq News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
SDF begins withdrawal from Aleppo
Shafaq News/ Units from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from two neighborhoods in Aleppo on Friday, following a security and administrative agreement signed earlier this week with the Syrian government. A security source in Aleppo said the convoy—comprising over 400 personnel, dozens of military vehicles, and four-wheel-drive units—departed the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts toward northeastern Syria. Syrian government forces accompanied the units to ensure a secure transfer. The agreement, announced Tuesday, outlines cooperation between the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian government in managing services, internal security, and local administration in the two neighborhoods. Internal Security Forces (Asayish) will remain in place, operating under a framework coordinated with the Ministry of Interior. In a statement on X, Badran Jia Kurd, an adviser to the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, described the agreement as 'an important step toward enhancing stability and coexistence.' He said it ensures the preservation of the neighborhoods' administrative and cultural character, including coordination with relevant institutions in Aleppo. On Thursday, both sides exchanged more than 200 detainees as part of the agreement's initial implementation phase. Meanwhile, clashes continue in Aleppo province between the SDF and Turkish-backed opposition groups. The area around the Tishreen Dam, southeast of Manbij, has seen active fighting for more than three months. The Aleppo deal follows a broader agreement signed on March 10 between transitional Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, calling for the integration of the Autonomous Administration's military and civil institutions into a unified Syrian state. It also covers joint management of strategic infrastructure, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields. The document affirms the Kurdish community's place within the Syrian state and guarantees full constitutional and citizenship rights. It also rejects any form of division, hate speech, or incitement between societal groups. Implementation is to be overseen by joint executive committees, with completion scheduled for the end of the year. The SDF, backed by the Global Coalition, continues to control significant parts of northeastern Syria, including major energy fields and agricultural zones critical to national food supply. Co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the AANES, Badran Jia Kurd: The councils of the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods have reached an agreement with the relevant committee of HTS, marking an important step toward enhancing stability and — Rojava Network (@RojavaNetwork) April 1, 2025
Voice of America
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Analysts see flaws in Syria's temporary constitution
Syria's newly adopted constitution is facing criticism from legal experts and political groups arguing that its loopholes could deepen division and instability in the conflict-ridden country. Three months after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's government, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a constitutional declaration Thursday that will serve as Syria's constitution during the five-year transitional period. Al-Sharaa — leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that spearheaded the offensive against Assad's leadership in December 2024 — said following the signing ceremony that he hoped the document would mark 'the beginning of a new history for Syria, where oppression is replaced by justice, destruction by construction, ignorance by education and torture by mercy.' The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in north and east Syria, a de facto civilian authority affiliated with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that controls nearly one-third of Syria's territory, was the first to reject the constitution, calling it exclusionary. 'The so-called constitutional declaration contains a framework and articles similar to those adopted by the Baath government,' it said, referring to the ruling party that governed Syria from 1963 to late 2024. Legal experts also argue that the 53-article document fails to adequately reflect Syria's realities, particularly its ethnic and religious diversity. 'The draft speaks generally of Syrians who resisted the regime, without distinguishing between Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and other ethnic groups,' said Jian Badrakhan, vice chairman of the Germany-based Kurdish Center for Studies and Legal Consultancy. 'However, Article 1 explicitly uses the term 'Arab' in the country's name, undermining the inclusive language found elsewhere in the document.' Badrakhan told VOA that 'the absence of any reference to the Kurds, as the second-largest ethnic group in the country, or to the Assyrians, one of Syria's oldest indigenous peoples, is a clear rejection of Syria's multicultural identity.' Definition, limits The constitution defines Syria as an Arab republic and mandates that the president must be Muslim. Additionally, it limits official recognition to 'heavenly religions,' referring to Abrahamic faiths like Christianity, Islam and Judaism. 'This effectively denies recognition to several long-standing religious communities in Syria, including the Yazidis and Druze,' Badrakhan said. 'Over time, this provision could also be interpreted as a means to exclude the Ismaili and Alawite sects [of Shiite Islam] from formal recognition.' According to the CIA World Factbook, Arabs constitute 50% of Syria's nearly 24 million people, while Alawites, Kurds and Christians make up 35%. The remaining percentage is made up of Druze, Ismaili, and other ethnic and religious groups. There are also concerns that the temporary constitution grants vast powers to the interim president and promotes Islamist ideology. Al-Sharaa's HTS is an Islamist group that is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. 'The constitution says there is separation between government branches, but that is clearly false,' said Sarbast Nabi, professor of political philosophy at Koya University in Iraqi Kurdistan. 'Article 24 stipulates that the president gets to pick 20 percent of members of the transitional parliament, which shows there is no separation between the executive and legislative branches,' he told VOA, adding that the document 'will not achieve stability in Syria.' The constitution justifies the inclusion of the clause 'to ensure fair representation and efficiency.' Anwar al-Bunni, co-founder and executive director of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research, says that while the constitutional declaration has some promising provisions – such as the creation of a commission for transitional justice and the establishment of political parties and associations – there are significant concerns. 'The declaration oversteps its role as a constitutional declaration, functioning more like a mini-constitution by predetermining the name of the republic, designating Islam as its main source of legislation and defining presidential powers – effectively undermining the will of the Syrian people,' he said. Such matters, he told VOA, should be decided through referendums. 'All ethnicities and religions in the country want constitutional guarantees,' al-Bunni said. 'Since this is a temporary document, the formation of a permanent constitution must include discussions over all these points and issues.' Geir Pedersen, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, said in a statement Friday that he 'hopes this [constitutional declaration] will move Syria toward restoring the rule of law and promoting an orderly inclusive transition.' Since Assad's fall, the U.S. and other Western nations have repeatedly called for an inclusive government in Syria that protects the country's ethnic and religious groups. This story originated in VOA's Kurdish Service.
Voice of America
21-02-2025
- General
- Voice of America
VOA Kurdish: Afrin IDPs in Qamishli fear returning home
As Syrian Arab refugees in the Kurdish city of Afrin return to their homes in Damascus and elsewhere, displaced Afrinis are afraid to return to their city. According to official statistics from the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, there are more than 120,000 displaced people from Afrin, 3,000 families of whom are in Qamishli. Click here for the full story in Kurdish.
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Kurdish Leaderships Reveal Details of Plan to Merge with Syrian Army
Sources close to the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the group's decision to merge its military and security bodies with those of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration is a serious step toward talks with Damascus. The move, announced late Monday, aims to integrate the SDF into the Syrian army. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi invited Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to visit SDF-held areas in northeastern Syria, congratulating him on leading the country's transition. The SDF had published the minutes of a three-way meeting that included Abdi along with leaders from the group's political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, and the executive administration of the Autonomous Administration. The meeting resulted in an agreement to merge the SDF's military and security institutions with the security bodies of the Autonomous Administration under the Syrian army's structure. It also approved the reactivation of state-run civil and service institutions in northeastern Syria and the withdrawal of non-Syrian foreign fighters from SDF ranks and areas under its control as part of efforts to bolster national sovereignty and stability. Abu Omar Al-Idlibi, a senior commander in the SDF, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting concluded with an understanding that the SDF would be integrated into Syria's Ministry of Defense as a single unit, potentially within a corps or as part of the ministry's eastern command. However, he noted that discussions were still in their early stages and that oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria were not on the agenda at this stage, but could be addressed in future talks. Al-Idlibi described the move as an effort to unify forces and strengthen national unity, while reviving state-run civil and service institutions in the northeast to improve public services and living conditions. The meeting emphasized the need to boost coordination with Damascus, increase dialogue on national issues, and reaffirm Syria's territorial integrity. Al-Idlibi said the latest decisions would support the integration of local forces into the Syrian army, bolster its defense capabilities, and facilitate the return of displaced people to their hometowns, particularly those from areas affected by Turkish military operations.
