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Rojava Information Center provides accurate, well-sourced, transparent information from on the ground in North and East Syria - @RojavaIC@mastodon.social
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Oct 9, 2023 15 tweets 3 min read
AANES foreign relations dept. co-chair, Bedran Jiya Kurd:

"The theories Turkey are advancing [Ankara attackers coming from Syria] are not true. Turkey wants to legitimize its attacks. The primary aim of the attacks is to destroy our people's existence."

Image "These attacks are war crimes. All intl. agreements, the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, say civilian infrastructure and civilians should not be a target. It is forbidden. But as has been seen, Turkey violates this. No other states raise their voice against this."
Jan 29, 2023 5 tweets 3 min read
Across January 27th and 28th, the city of Qamishlo hosted North and East Syria's inaugural technology fair.

24 inventors and companies participated in the event, which was organized by the telecommunications company Rcell, presenting a variety of applications and devices. ImageImage The exhibited projects ranged from large-scale solar panels for agricultural use to innovative applications in health care, as well as surveillance technology for private owners. ImageImageImageImage
Jan 15, 2023 7 tweets 2 min read
Yesterday, Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displacement announced the repatriation of 584 people from al-Hol camp, marking Iraq's first repatriation mission since October. The camp's Iraqi population now stands at 26,875, comprising over half of the total inhabitants. Those leaving al-Hol camp will be sent to al-Jada camp in Iraq's Nineveh governorate. With this most recent repatriation mission, the total number of Iraqi citizens repatriated from NES since 2017 rises to 11,484. This includes those repatriated from prisons as well as camps.
Dec 1, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
US' @CENTCOM have announced that the "Free Syrian Army" killed ISIS' leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, in Daraa province back in October. ISIS have now declared Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi as their new leader.

centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RE… The threat from ISIS sleeper cells remains high in NES. Yesterday, AANES' Justice and Reform Office announced a state of alert due to intelligence that ISIS is preparing for an attack on an ISIS prison in Qamishlo city.
Nov 30, 2022 14 tweets 4 min read
"The Shammar is not just a traditional tribe; a big part of the tribe is involved in politics".

The Shammar tribe is AANES’ closest ally of the Arab tribes in NES. RIC spoke with journalist Tarif Obeid and Arwa Ahmed al-Salah, both from the Shammar, regarding ... Image ... the significance of Shammar-AANES relations, as well as of that between their respective defence forces: the Sanadid and YPG-YPJ.
Aug 16, 2022 9 tweets 3 min read
[BREAKING]

The Turkish army is shelling the city of Kobane. Some local sources have reported that there are casualties. Shelling has been ongoing in other places across NES as well.

Last night, the Turkish army shelled Jirnik and Xerze villages in Amude's countryside, and Chetel, Qermane, Melek, and Delil villages in Darbasiyah's countryside, causing damage to civilian houses.
Jul 20, 2022 14 tweets 4 min read
The Turkey-Iran-Russia meeting: what we know so far.

The leaders of the 3 countries met in Tehran on July 19 to discuss the Syrian conflict, amid Erdoğan's calls for a new invasion of NES. No 'green light' for such an operation was given publically, but war may yet happen. During the meeting, Erdoğan once again raised the issue of Turkish national security, saying "The terrorist organizations [referring to the YPG/YPJ] must be confronted and ousted from Syria." He also expressed his hope "to receive Iranian and Russian support in this regard."
Jul 20, 2022 14 tweets 4 min read
Events across NES celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 'Rojava Revolution' yesterday. Thousands of people from across the Jazira region participated in celebrations held at Qamishlo's 'Martyrs of the 12 of March' Stadium. At an international conference hosted by the Rojava Center for Strategic Studies, several prominent voices gave speeches on the occasion, including Amina Kakabaveh, a Swedish MP of Kurdish descent, Simon Dubbins of @unitetheunion, & @IRFSecretariat president @nadinemaenza.
Jul 19, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
[NEW REPORT]

Today marks the anniversary of #10YearsRojava. Ten years of hard-fought achievements; ten years of setbacks, too. On this occasion, RIC is releasing 2 long-form articles. The first, appearing today, recalls the history of the revolution. Ten years ago, the people of Kobane took to the streets demanding autonomy, thus sparking a revolution. Our first piece seeks to trace the developments between the early uprising in Kobane & today's AANES system.

How did it come to be? How did it develop?
Mar 17, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
The AANES has issued a general amnesty for all crimes committed before March 16, 2022, on the occasion of Newroz, or Kurdish New Year. According to the law:

📌Those imprisoned for offences & misdemeanours will be released

📌Life sentences will be replaced by 15-year sentences 📌Prison sentences for crimes will be quartered

📌Over-75s & those suffering from terminal illnesses will be released

📌Excluded from the amnesty are those imprisoned for: terrorism, treason, espionage, corruption (related to public funds), sexual assault, & drug trafficking
Feb 20, 2022 6 tweets 3 min read
[NEW REPORT]

During the months July to September 2021, RIC recorded 313 arrests across Turkish-occupied areas – considerably higher than in Q2 (150), though not as high as Q3 (363). Image 21 cases of gender-based violence were recorded across Afrin, including the arrest of a 17-year-old in Tel Abyad who remains missing, as well as the return of a 16-year-old who was kidnapped by SNA militias for the past year. Image
Feb 2, 2022 4 tweets 3 min read
13 of the 40 soldiers who fell during the Battle of Heseke were buried in Qamishlo today. Thousands of citizens attended the funeral of both Kurdish & Arab fighters this morning. A parallel ceremony was held in Amude. Shops across the city remained closed today out of reverence for the fallen soldiers.

Sweeping operations are carrying on in Heseke. 2 suicide bombers were shot dead today near Bassel roundabout before they could detonate their vests. Intermittent clashes continue.
Feb 2, 2022 11 tweets 4 min read
[BREAKING]

Turkey & Turkish-backed SNA groups are shelling NES across multiple fronts, including a second attack near Derik launched from Turkish territory today.

Suspicions of a coordinated Turkish attack across Kurdish regions of Syria & Iraq yesterday have been confirmed. Ayn Diwar, in the tri-border area of Jazeera region, was shelled by Turkish forces this afternoon, injuring 4 civilians. The attack reportedly destroyed houses & displaced more civilians.
Feb 1, 2022 6 tweets 2 min read
[BREAKING]

Multiple targets in Kurdish regions of Syria & Iraq have been bombed tonight by Turkey & Turkish-backed groups.

An airstrike, presumably a Turkish drone, targeted Teqil Beqil, in NE Jazeera.

Turkish drones are reportedly flying over Kobane & Afrin regions. The Kurdish Makhmour refugee camp in Iraq was hit 10 times according to local sources, as well as Yazidi-majority Mount Sinjar, which appears to have been airstriked at least 20 times.

Sheikh Issa, in Shehba, was shelled. It had previously been shelled 5 days ago.
Jan 31, 2022 11 tweets 5 min read
[UPDATE]

At a press conference in Heseke today, SDF commanders offered final remarks about the so-called 'Operation People's Hammer'.

According to them, 40 soldiers & 77 prison staff fell during the prison escape attempt & subsequent fighting, as well as 4 civilians. Image Additionally, 374 ISIS fighters were killed. Truckloads of bodies were photographed in Heseke today. No final numbers for those arrested were reported, however, the statement affirmed that "all the terrorist detainees were recaptured and transferred to other prisons." Image
Jan 6, 2022 6 tweets 2 min read
The General Council of the AANES established a new Commission this week at their annual meeting in Raqqa by splitting the Agriculture & Irrigation Commission from the Economy Commission. This brings the total number of Commissions to 11. “Several institutions, industrial and agricultural sectors are affiliated with the Agriculture and Economy Commission and all those sectors cannot be  linked to only one commission," Economy Co-chair Salman Barudo said.
Jan 3, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
In 2021, Turkey shelled NES 18,444 times & operated 89 drone strikes. The overwhelming majority of shelling happened along the frontline in Afrin (16,245), while most drone strikes occurred around Ayn Issa (65). Other drone strikes occurred in Jazeera region (19) & Kobane (5). Over the summer & fall, Turkey conducted numerous drone strikes in Jazeera & Kobane, including one in Qamishlo, NES' largest Kurdish city, which killed 3 civilians. In 2021, 154 people were killed by Turkish attacks, nearly half (76) in Afrin/Shehba.

Dec 13, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
SDF Press has released a statement today stating that Coalition & SDF's Anti-Terror Forces (YAT) carried out joint security operations against ISIS cells near Busayrah, Deir ez-Zor. The raids were carried out with Coalition air support. The statement further reads: "Our forces responded to the sources of fire, which led to the killing of 5 members of the cell, most of whom were wearing explosive belts."
Dec 13, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
AANES is in the process of drafting a new social contract, to reflect input from the four majority Arab regions liberated from ISIS, Tabqa, Manbij, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.

Today, the first conference to review the new draft wrapped up in Heseke. It took place over 3 days, and was attended by over a 100 members of the social contract preparatory committee. The committee went through each point in detail, and voted on changes.

A new date will be set to continue the conference and discuss the rest of the points in full.
Dec 13, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
Matt Broomfield, our long-time colleague & one of the founders of @RojavaIC, was recently jailed in Greece for 2 months & consequtively banned from entering the Schengen Zone for a decade.

His only crime was reporting from NES.

Read more here:
kurdistan24.net/en/story/26565… Matt's ban was handed down by Germany & likely came as a result of lobbying by the Turkish government, the largest jailer of journalists worldwide.

At least one other UK citizen received a similar ban for working as a medic in NES.
Nov 22, 2021 6 tweets 3 min read
An article released by @guardian alleges at least 2 former ISIS members were freed from SDF prisons in exchange for bribes worth several thousands of USD.

These cases stand in contrast to the AANES' legal & rehabilitation efforts on this issue.

theguardian.com/world/2021/nov… AANES practiced a tribal-guarantee program for the return of prisoners until 2020, when, following popular demand & consultations, the system changed to offer amnesties through the NES' local councils.

Low-level criminals, the sick, & over-75s were freed during this period.