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#NewsFromTheFront
Weekly update from your anarchist comrades in #NES
09.02.25-16.02.25

Also available on https://tekosinaanarsist.noblogs.org/category/war-updates/

# NES

- Resistance in Tishreen-
The civilian vigil in Tishreen dam continues, with people from all territories of Northeast Syria organizing rotations. The convoys are organized by the different cantons, with dozens of civilians going in every rotation to keep watch on the dam for a few days until the next group arrives.
Meanwhile, the clashes between SDF and SNA militias continue in the western countryside of the dam, with Turkish drones and warplanes bombing SDF positions constantly. Supply lines of SDF, as well as other civilian locations are also a target of Turkish drones on the eastern side of the dam. The Syrian Kurdish journalist Agid Roj was killed in one of these drone strikes. SDF drones units destroyed several vehicles of SNA militias.

- Roja Reş and delay of the "historical announcement"-
Kurdish people all around the world held demonstrations on February 15th demanding freedom for Abdullah Ocalan on the 26th anniversary of his imprisonment. After the meeting of DEM party leaders with him in Imrali prison, an historical statement was announced, but it has been delayed. DEM party leaders held meetings with the main Turkish political parties and also with Kurdish political parties of Başûr, Iraqi Kurdistan. PKK senior leader Cemil Bayik declared that the guerrillas will not disarm without Abdullah Ocalan's release from prison. PKK executive committee member Murat Karayilan hinted additional conditions for any possible disarment, adding that a decision like that needs to be discussed in a PKK conference before taking any step. This contradicts declarations of Turkish politicians stating that PKK will lay down weapons if Ocalan calls for it.

# SYRIA

-Plans for the "National dialog conference"-
Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa formed a preparatory committee for the "National dialog conference" on February 12th, that is mostly comprised of pro-HTS individuals and close allies of al-Sharaa. The preparatory committee does not include representatives of the Alawite, Druze, Kurdish, or Shia communities. The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), aligned with the DAANES, made a statement denouncing the lack of inclusivity of that committee, as well as the risk of such a conference to be instrumentalized by HTS to simply consolidate their power grip. The Preparatory Committee held its first “dialogue session” in Homs Province on February 16.

-Security operations of HTS-
HTS forces continue their security operations, mostly targeting regime loyalists. At least 13 people had been killed in different incidents in Homs, Aleppo, Latakia and Deir Ezzor. SOHR reported some of the arrested to be found dead afterwards, some with signs of torture as well as two bodies that were found decapitated in Abu kamal.
An operation in Deir Ezzor resulted in the arrest of a group of leaders of the "National Defense" militia affiliated with the regime. In Latakia countryside, a curfew and searching operations took place after two check points of HTS in the area of Fahel Qabu, western Homs countryside, were attacked. The "Syria popular resistance" claimed responsibility for the attacks, a group allegedly aligned with Iran and other regime loyalist forces.

-More non-Syrian HTS appointments-
HTS continues their reorganization of the new Syrian army, announcing new appointments and changes in different military structures. The Defense Ministry reportedly appointed HTS Shura Council member Brigadier General Abdul Rahman al-Khatib as commander of the Republican Guard in Damascus, a majority Alawite elite force under the Assad regime. The Defense Ministry also reportedly appointed the former head of the ”Deterrence Aggression” operation room as the head of the “Damascus Division", probably referring to the 4th Division of the Syrian Arab Army.

-HTS deployment in Lebanon border-
Following the clashes that took place in the Syria-Lebanon border last weeks, HTS security forces had been deploying in coordination with Lebanon army to crack down on the smuggling routes over the border. Discussions between Lebanese authorities and HTS provisional government in Syria are coordinating the security operations and the procedures for Syrian citizens arrested by Lebanese army.

-HTS negotiations with southern armed groups-
The Syrian interim government has continued to attempt to consolidate its control over groups in southern Syria that have not yet joined the Defense Ministry. Negotiations with the "Southern operations room" in Daraya and with "Men of dignity" in Sweyda continue. Some agreements allowing deployment of HTS forces in those areas had been put in practice, but definitive agreements about the integration of those groups on the new Syrian army has not been reached yet.

# INTERNATIONAL

-Paris conference on Syria-
Paris held an international conference about Syria with several representatives of Western states as well as other influential powers involved in the transition of Syria. French president remarked the need for new Syrian authorities to get more involved in the war against ISIS and the need for SDF to be included in the transition of Syria, remarking the important role the kurds played in the war against ISIS. Discusions about lifting the sanction took place, with promises to make it happen soon to provide humanitarian relief to the Syrian people. This become event more urgent now that Trump froze all USAID founds, from what many of the humanitarian services in Syria, including clinics in the camps of ISIS prisoners, depend. After the conference France authorities also confirmed that Israel refused their request to withdraw from areas that had been recently occupied.

-Negotiations with Russia-
An oficial call between al-Sharaa, interim president of Syria, and Putin took place. Among other topics, they talked to coordinate the withdraw of Russian forces from Syria. Russian naval fleet is reported leaving Syria, with Russian cargo vessels evacuating military assets from the port of Tartus as Russia negotiates its presence in Syria with the interim government. A big shipment of printed Syrian currency arrived to Damascus from Russia, where it has being printed for several years.

# REMEMBER OMAR AZIZ

Events to commemorate Omar Aziz, a Syrian anarchist who died in the regime prison on February 16th 2013, took place. More than 20 events across more than 15 countries were held, reading his text "On the formation of local councils" and screening movies about the Syrian revolution. Events also took place in Northeast Syria, highlighting the similarities of his anarchist proposals with the system of communes and local councils of the Self-Administration of Northeast Syria. Many anarchist groups also made statements to remember his struggle commemorate his legacy. Jawana Aziz, daughter of Omar Aziz, published a video as a tribute to him. The video and the list of events can be found in the website https://rememberomaraziz.net/

Revolutionary greetings!

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#Syria #VictoryCongress #SDF #DAANES #AANES #SNA #SDF #HTS #AlSharaa #Rojava #Revolution #DefendRojava #Anarchy #Anarchism #Comrades #Internationalism #Tishreen #Turkey #AgidRoj #AbdullahOcalan #Öcalan #DEMparty #PKK #NationalDialogConference #AlSharaa #Latakia #Lebanon #Macron #USAID #Trump #Russia #Putin #OmarAziz #LocalCouncils

#NewsFromTheFront
Weekly update from your anarchist comrades in #NES
02.02.25-08.02.25

Also available on https://tekosinaanarsist.noblogs.org/category/war-updates/

Weekly highlights - 02.02.25 - 08.02.25

# MANBIJ CAR BOMB AND KOBANE WITHOUT WATER
Another car bomb detonated in Manbij killing 21 people, mostly women. SNA blames SDF, but SDF denies it and attributes it to SNA factions. SDF condemned the attack and called for an investigation, offering support to find the perpetrators.
Heavy clashes between SNA and SDF continued, with constant bombings of turkish air force on positions near Tishreen dam and Qereqozah bridge.
Turkish attacks rendered the main water station of Kobane out of order, leaving more than 200,000 people without drinking water. DAANES calls for international human rights organizations to condemn the attacks, calling it a war crime.

# US MAKING PLANS FOR WITHDRAWAL
With President Trump in office, the Department of Defense (DOD) is drafting plans for a possible withdrawal of all 2000 US troops on Syrian ground. Several proposals are being drafted, considering different time schemes of 20, 60, and 90 days. Pentagon officials stated that for now there is no order to evacuate, but that their work is to have plans for any possible situation.

# SYRIAN-TURKISH 'DEEP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP'
Following a visit of Al-Sharaa in Ankara, both presidents vowed to establish a close partnership. Al-Sharaa emphasized pressure of Israeli withdrawal, Erdogan cooperation on combating terrorism and pushing back on PKK in Syria. Announcements of a formal defense pact are not officially made yet, but there are clear indicators of Turkey willing to make us of air bases in Syria, as well as offering military support to rebuild a new Syrian army. This will include retaining influence on SNA forces that are expected to joint the new Syrian army.

# NEW DEPLOYMENTS OF HTS IN SNA AREAS
The military operations command, linked to the transitional government of HTS, increased it's deployment of forces in SNA controlled areas. This followed the announcement of SNA joining the new Syrian army, as well as the promotion of several commanders of SNA to high ranks. Among those promoted there is Abu Amsha, leader of the joint forces (hamza and Suleiman Shah brigades), who was behind the assassination of the kurdish polititian Hevrin Xalef in 2019.

# NEW AIR RAIDS OF ISRAEL AND UN ASSESSMENT
UN delegation arrived to Quneitra region to asses the situation after Israel forces organized a partial withrawal from the region. Israel air forces also re-started bombing campaigns, targeting different locations around Damascus, declaring that those are attacks directed to Hamas and weapons that Hamas may use against Israel.

# COMMON DELEGATION PYD-ENKS
ENKS, political organization connected to KDP in Rojava, announced their intentions to have a common delegation with PYD to Damascus, with the objective to negotiate the political status of the kurdish regions of northern Syria. ENKS stated that rejects any proposals of autonomy for north-east Syria and calls for a federal model.

# NEGOTIATIONS AND NEW POLITICAL COUNCIL IN SUWAYDA
Political, military and religious entities created a new council together, pledging to “fill the political void, unify perspectives, and mobilize efforts in line with the evolving needs of Syrians in the upcoming phase.” The transitional government sent a delegation and held meetings with druze authorities, negotiating the process of integration of druze armed forces in the new Syrian army, allegedly in exchange of some political benefits, but seems no definite agreement has been reached yet.

# EXPECTATION FOR THE MESSAGE FROM ÖCALAN
According to DEM-Party, Öcalan prepares historic call for the February 15th, the day that will make 26 years of his imprisonment.

# PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL ON ROJAVA VS. TURKEY
At the Free University of Brussels, jurists, human rights activists, affected people and witnesses take part in the 2-day event to investigate and publicize the human right violations in NES. Turkey declined the invitation.

# ANALYSIS

Now it's two months since Bashar al-Assad left Syria, marking the collapse of the regime and the beginning of a new phase for Syria. Since then, HTS had been gradually taking more and more control of the state apparatus, culminating with the self-proclamation of al-Sharaa as president of Syria. The provisional government, originally announced for three months, legitimized it's authority with a staged "victory congress" where only military commanders could assist, announcing now a period of 4 or 5 years before any elections can take place in Syria. Western support for the new regime kept the press away from calling it a military coup, but it is clearly what happened. This new administration counts with full support of the Turkish state, undermining any constructive agreement with the DAANES to joint efforts and build a democratic Syria.

Negotiations between the new administration in Damascus and the SDF continue, but it is clear that any agreement is out of reach, specially after SNA forces (turkish proxies) are being promoted inside the ranks of the new Syrian army. With Trump on the white house and his calls for US forces to withdraw, the future of the autonomous administration is very uncertain. Other minorities in Syria are slowly being bent under the authority of the new centralized rule, as international states support and assist the new government to establish its power. Any dreams of democratization and revolutionary steps for Syria fade away, as the new administration gets integrated into the ranks of capitalist nation-states.

The imperialist influence that Russia and Iran had over the Assad regime are being exchanged for the imperialist influence of Turkish neo-otoman dreams, with support of Turkish NATO partners of western countries. The islamic fundamentalist politics of the self-proclaimed president of Syria are now kept hidden, waiting to consolidate their power grip before to start any moves that could scare their newly acquired western partners. The promises of protection for ethnic minorities and women rights probably will last until economical sanctions are lifted, but after that nothing will remain between the new centralized state and any resistance against their authoritarian measures.

The revolution of northern Syria is funneled into a very difficult position, forced to accept the integration into a new Syrian state under the rule of an islamist force, or the annihilation under the bombs of the Turkish army. But after more than a decade of revolutionary developments in Syria, and more than four decades of efforts and struggle of the Kurdish Liberation Movement, a promise of an historic announcement is now brought to the table by Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of PKK. In less than a weak it will be 26 years since hee was imprisoned in the prison of Imrali, and this 15th of February is the date that this historic announcement is expected.

At the same time, many anarchist from all around the world are also coming together in solidarity with the Syrian revolution, organizing events in memory of Omar Aziz. On the 16th of February will be 12 years since he died in the brutal prisons of Assad regime, a regime that after more than 50 years finally collapsed. We will remember him and commemorate his legacy as a revolutionary example, building bridges of solidarity over all Syria and all around the world. Now more than ever revolutionary forces must stand together to face the darkening times ahead of us. We remember our sehids, as well as all revolutionaries that gave their lives fighting for a better world.

Revolutionary greetings!

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#Syria #VictoryCongress #SDF #DAANES #AANES #SNA #HTS #AlSharaa #Rojava #Revolution #DefendRojava #Anarchy #Anarchism #Comrades #Internationalism #Manbij #Kobane #Syria #DOD #USA #Turkey #Erdogan #PKK #NewSyrianArmy #Israel #ENKS #KDP #Druze #DEM #Öcalan #Ocalan #ULB #Brussels #OmarAziz