Salam Ali

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Articles

‘To send a message’: What happened to the Tishreen Dam protest convoy?

Jan 10, 2025 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Twenty people were killed and injured when an AANES-sponsored protest convoy approached an area of active fighting around Syria’s Tishreen Dam on Wednesday and was targeted by Turkish aircraft. What happened, and why? ERBIL — On January 8, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) announced the killing of five civilians and injury of 15 others when a protest convoy heading for the Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates River was hit by a Turkish drone strike.
Tens of thousands return to Afrin while fear of abuses keeps others away

Jan 3, 2025 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali

Since Turkish-backed factions took control of northern Aleppo at the start of December, more than 70,000 displaced people have returned to Afrin and its countryside, while others fled to northeastern Syria fearing abuses. ERBIL — Omar Jamil (a pseudonym), 35, returned home with his wife, parents and five children on December 4 to his village in the Sherawa area of Syria’s northwestern Afrin countryside.
Syrian Kurdish parties struggle to unify and negotiate with Damascus

Dec 30, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali

Longstanding disputes between the two largest Syrian Kurdish political blocs stymie efforts to form a unified political vision and send a delegation to negotiate with the transitional government in Damascus. ERBIL — Top Kurdish leaders met in northeastern Syria on December 23 in the hopes of forming a unified political delegation to negotiate with the transitional government in Damascus regarding the rights, demands and future of Kurds in a post-Assad Syria.
Afrin’s displaced torn between another exile and danger in northern Aleppo

Dec 3, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) estimates 120,000 people have been displaced from areas of northern Aleppo captured by Turkish-backed opposition factions this week. HASAKAH — As part of a slow procession of families reeling from the bitterness and pain of a new displacement, Salwa Omar (a pseudonym), 31, arrived in the western Raqqa city of Tabqa on Monday evening.
Armed robbers stalk northeastern Syria’s country roads

Oct 23, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Countryside roads in SDF-controlled northeastern Syria are a hunting ground for armed robbers targeting civilians and humanitarian workers. Repeated security incidents limit residents’ freedom of movement and cut into organizations’ limited funding. ERBIL/HASAKAH — Just after midnight, four gunmen on motorcycles rode out of the darkness on a road north of Hasakah city, heading straight for Hassan Ahmad (a pseudonym) and his relative.
Regime and AANES conscription traps Syrians in Lebanon as thousands flee

Oct 8, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Young Syrians returning from Lebanon to AANES-held northeastern Syria, like those heading for regime areas, face the threat of conscription for “self-defense duty.”ERBIL/HASAKAH — Abdullah Muhammad (a pseudonym) and his family arrived at the bus station in Syria’s northern Raqqa city on October 2.
Unable to afford cooking gas, Hasakah residents turn to a ‘deadly’ alternative

Aug 27, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Hasakah residents who cannot afford costly cooking gas rely on the babur, a traditional kerosene stove, risking death or injury because locally available fuel is impure and highly flammable. ERBIL/HASAKAH — One morning in mid-June, Marwa al-Nasser, 31, began making breakfast. Placing her one-year-old son, Hussein, on a mattress in the hall of their home in Hasakah city’s Gweiran neighborhood, she started up the family’s babur—a small, traditional kerosene cooking stove.
Tannour making in Hasakah: Heritage flourishes during crisis

Aug 19, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

In Hasakah, the tradition of making tannours is holding strong after years of war and bread crises increased demand for the traditional, wood-fired clay ovens used to bake at home. HASAKAH — One sunny day this spring, 32-year-old Sanaa al-Ali and her cousin, 40-year-old Fida, focused deeply on the task before them: crafting a clay tannour—a traditional wood-fired oven used for baking bread.
Deir e-Zor civilians under fire as regime-backed groups attack the SDF

Aug 12, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Bombardment by Syrian regime forces and affiliated militias has killed and injured dozens of people in SDF-controlled villages and towns in Deir e-Zor since Iran-backed Arab tribal forces launched an attack on the eastern countryside six days ago. ERBIL/HASAKAH — Omar (a pseudonym) lost five of his relatives on Friday when a shell struck their home in al-Dahla, a village in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled eastern Deir e-Zor countryside.
As Arab forces attack the SDF in Deir e-Zor, Iran pulls the strings

Aug 8, 2024 | syriadirect.org | Salam Ali |Mateo Nelson

Iran-backed Arab tribal forces attacked the US-backed SDF in Deir e-Zor this week, briefly overrunning security positions and sparking heightened security measures in neighboring Hasakah province amid fears of further escalation. ERBIL/HASAKAH — Heightened security measures remain in place in northeastern Syria following an attack launched by Iran-backed Arab tribal forces against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the eastern Deir e-Zor countryside late Tuesday evening.