12.05.25 – 19.05.25
Deir Ezzor security operations and ISIS activities.
After continued attacks on SDF checkpoints in eastern Deir Ezzor, SDF deployed additional forces to carry out a wider security operation. More than 10 ISIS linked individuals have been arrested after an extensive intelligence research, focused not just on sleeping cells, but targeting also networks of weapons and oil smuggling often connected with ISIS activities. Despite the defeat of the caliphate, insurgent activity of ISIS in the desert areas of central Syria continued. Since the collapse of the al-Assad regime, sunni fundamentalist groups are disappointed with the moderate politics of the transitional government of al-Sharaa. ISIS is exploiting those frustrations to recruit insurgents into their ranks, increasing their activities and expanding their networks. Syrian authorities also claim the arrest of an ISIS cell in Aleppo, as a reaction to a deadly attack of the fundamentalist group on a public security facility that resulted in the death of a security officer.
Trump – Al-Sharaa meeting in Saudi Arabia:
Trump announced in Riyadh that he will lift the sanctions on Syria, presenting it as “a new opportunity” for the Syrian government to restore stability. The declaration came during his speech at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, where Trump is on a high-profile tour on middle east. After that announcement, a face to face meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa took place, together with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Erdoğan, who joined online. The White House announced their request for Syria to expel Palestinian terrorists groups and to join the Abraham agreements (agreements of normalization of relations between Israel and Arab nations). Another major request was for the Syrian government to assume full responsibility for ISIS detention centers of northeast Syria, currently under control of SDF. The previous request of US for lifting sanctions of removing foreign islamists from government positions was not mentioned. Al-Sharaa invited U.S. companies to invest in Syria’s oil and gas sectors.
More HTS and SNA appointments in government positions
The government of al-Sharaa continues to appoint important figures of HTS in key positions of the transitional government. This include Abdul Qader al Tahhan (Abu Bilal Quds) as Deputy Interior Minister for National Security Affairs, Hakim al Deiri (Dia al Din al Omar) as General Security Services (GSS) Director of Latakia Province and Muhammad Taha al Ahmad as Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs. Also this week a meeting with leading commanders of SNA was held nearby Serekaniye. They discussed about integration of different SNA groups in the new Syrian army, without requiring them to reform or restructure their forces. This brings important questions for the future of the M4 strip area between Serekaniye and Gire Spi, occupied by Turkish proxies since 2019. Thousands of families are waiting to return to their homes after they were expelled by the Turkish military operations more than 5 years ago.
PKK ceasing activities
After a two day congress held in Irak, PKK announced that it will cease activities under such name and that the organization will disband. This statement follows the call of their imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, calling for a peace process and the resolution of the Kurdish question over political means. Turkish state welcomed the statement, but announced that it will continue its ground military operations on areas under control of PKK. Turkish President Erdoğan made declarations calling for the process of dissolution and disarmament to also involve the Syrian and European branches of the organization.
Mazloum Abdi, head of SDF, welcomed the announcement of PKK describing it as a “historic and courageous” decision, marking what he called a pivotal moment for politics and peace in the Middle East. “The PKK’s decision to dismantle its organizational structure, end the armed struggle, and adopt democratic politics based on the call of leader Abdullah Öcalan is commendable. We are confident this step will pave the way for a new phase of politics and peace in the region.”
Evaluation
For more than six and a half months we have been reporting about the ongoing situation on Syria, with special focus on the development of the revolutionary process of north-East Syria. The region has been experiencing deep political changes and transformations, that we try to analyze combining the information that gets published with our experiences and sources on the ground.
We reached a point were this task is getting heavier for us, not being able to fully grasp the meaning of the unfolding events. In these circumstances, we consider it appropriate to re-evaluate our tasks and our role as anarchists in north-east Syria. We want to provide accurate evaluations, in line with our political perspectives and coherent with the principles of critical solidarity that characterize our vision of internationalism.
The implications of what we are witnessing stretches beyond what we expected. We need to be careful about what we share with you all, and we will need some time to reflect what is happening in the new Syria that is being made, what implications does it have for Kurdistan and for Middle east and how this will affect the rest of the world. Overall, we need to reflect what lessons we, as well as other revolutionary movements, can learn from this situation.
Revolutionary greetings