By David L. Phillips NEW YORK, Mar 12 2025 (IPS) – Israel’s decision to suspend electricity supplies to Gaza has far-reaching consequences for daily life of Palestinians as well as Gaza’s reconstruction. Managing Gaza’s energy crisis will require the development of alternative supplies, which are found in off-shore natural gas fields that can be developed off the…
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) held the periodic coordination meeting on Monday. The meeting focused on assessing the latest political and military developments in Syria and the broader region. Additionally, it addressed the progress of the ongoing dialogue with Syria’s…
A high-level delegation from northeastern (NE) Syria met with senior British officials, including Sammy Wilson, Democratic Unionist Party MP for East Antrim, Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP, and Michael Jay (Baron Jay of Ewelme), British politician and former diplomat. The delegation was led by Ilham Ahmad, Co-Chairwoman of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration…
We in the Syrian Democratic Council declare our complete rejection of the constitutional declaration submitted by the interim government, and as stated in our previous statement on February 26, 2025, the so-called “National Dialogue Conference” was not fair in representing social components or political entities, and the Syrian Democratic Council affirms that everything that builds…
17/02/2025 QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – ISIS is capitalizing on a security vacuum left by the Assad regime in the Syrian Desert to stockpile weapons and establish strategic positions, Mazloum Abdi, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Sunday. Speaking to The Times, Abdi stated, “There is a security vacuum. In the desert, Daesh has…
By Dilosoz Youssef HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – After a rainy night, 70-year-old Khalil al-Faraj finished packing his belongings in al-Arisha IDP camp, located in the southern countryside of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, preparing to return to his hometown in Deir ez-Zor, eastern the country, after eight years of displacement. On Feb. 11, hundreds of families departed…
17/02/2025 HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander said on Monday that the force has conducted 75 operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) in coordination with the U.S.-led Global Coalition since December 2024. Mahmoud Habib, spokesman for the North Democratic Brigade operating under the SDF umbrella, told North Press that SDF units…
THE WASHINGTON TIMES — 1/27/2025 Dr. David L. Phillips The Syrian Democratic Council plays a pivotal role in Syria’s transition and future constitution. It rejects independence for Rojava, the Kurdish region in northeast Syria, in lieu of power-sharing between Damascus and Syria’s regions. The SDC does not seek a “zero-sum gain,” where its gains come at the expense of others. After 50 years of conflict and hardship, the SDC wants…
by David L. Phillips, opinion contributor – 12/26/24 11:00 AM ET The U.S. and Turkey risk a confrontation if Turkey or its jihadist proxies attack the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), America’s ally fighting ISIS. Defeating ISIS is still a work in progress; the Kurds are guarding thousands of ISIS prisoners in northeast Syria. If they redeploy to…
By David L. Phillips Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric who died last week, were political allies and business partners. They engineered an Islamist take-over of the civil service and police until a disagreement in 2013 dividing the spoils. When Gulen’s allies in the judiciary launched an investigation into Erdogan’s dealings,…
