Muhammed Emin | Muhammad Amin

Why Were No Civilians Displaced During the Fighting of the Past Two Days in the Syrian Jazeera Region? Military confrontations are typically accompanied by significant civilian displacement. However, our monitoring of the recent fighting in the Syrian Jazeera region -particularly in the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor-revealed a notable exception: the absence of displacement among residents, despite Syrian government forces advancing and assuming control over dozens of towns and villages. This development suggests that the local population does not perceive the advancing forces as an external or hostile presence. Rather, they appear to be viewed as forces emerging from within the community’s own social fabric -actors seen as restoring authority and bringing an end to the control of #SDF/#PKK that had imposed coercive rule and perpetrated widespread violations against civilians. During the years of #SDF/#PKK control over the Syrian Jazeera region, we documented hundreds of thousands of violations affecting the civilian population. We hope that this recent change in control represents a definitive break from that period of abuse and marks the beginning of a more stable environment grounded in respect for rights and the protection of civilians.