03/16/24: The SIG Ministry of Defense announced the opening of a new Military Police branch in the town of Bulbul, located near the Turkish border in northern Afrin. This appears to be part of a bigger reshuffling of the Military Police in Afrin. Previously the region had been home to three branches: Afrin, Cindires, and Rajo, which in turn had administered the four other subdistricts - including Bulbul - though local detachments. Judging by posts made by the new Bulbul branch Facebook page (which used to be the Rajo branch page) it seems that the Rajo branch has been demoted to a detachment under the jurisdiction of Bulbul.
03/17/24: Demonstrators blocked a convoy travelling through Sajo to Turkey via the Bab al-Salamah border crossing, leading to the convoy’s security detail using live fire to break up the protest. According to local media the convoy included a Turkish government delegation that had attended an Iftar banquet at the Ministry of Defense headquarters on the road between A’zaz and Afrin (other accounts say the event was held in Hawar Kilis but if so the convoy likely would’ve used the military border crossing instead). Activists quickly blamed renegade opposition faction Tajammu’ al-Shahba’ though it appears the demonstrators were actually displaced natives of Tell Rifa’at (captured by the SDF in 2016) residing in nearby camps who thought the convoy belonged to the Syrian National Coalition and the Interim Government. Tajammu’ al-Shahba’, which includes Tell Rifa’at IDPs, published a statement denying responsibility and pointing out the notables in the Sajo camps had convinced a number of the demonstrators to turn themselves into al-Jabhah al-Shamiyah, the main faction and security force in the area. Unconfirmed reports claimed that two of those arrested belonged to Tajammu’ al-Shahba’ subfaction al-Furqah 50.
03/18/24: A number of different actors mourned or celebrated the sixth anniversary of the capture of Afrin by the Turkish military and its opposition proxy forces. Commemoration events were held in SDF-held areas including in al-Shahba’ by thousands Afrinis displaced in the 2018 operation. In opposition areas it appears the anniversary was overshadowed by ongoing celebrations relating to the 13th anniversary of the Syrian uprising. In other Afrin news, a Furqat al-Hamzah member was accused of beating a policeman, Furqat Suqour al-Shamal highlighted its efforts to handover homes and agricultural land seized by its members since entering the region in 2018, and Gaziantep University’s satellite campus in Afrin held a symposium commemorating the 1915 Ottoman victory over the Entente at Çanakkale.
03/19/24: Opposition media reported that General Commander of Tajammu’ al-Shahba’ Hussein ‘Assaf (“Abu Tawfiq”) announced his resignation from the controversial faction as well as from the al-Furqah 50 subfaction he headed prior to the creation of al-Shahba’ in February 2023. The following day the SIG Ministry of Defense circulated a statement demanding that all groups operating outside the SNA within SIG territory be folded within its ranks or be dealt with in time as dissents, referring perhaps entirely to Tajammu’ al-Shahba’ and affiliated factions.
03/20/24: Spring flooding of the Tigris caused the Semalka/Fash Khabour pontoon bridge linking AANES-controlled Syria to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to collapse, temporarily diverting traffic to the al-Walid crossing 20km to the southwest.
03/20/24: Two SIG police officers and a civilian were reportedly injured in an IED attack targeting the police checkpoint at the southern entrance to al-Ra’i city in northern Aleppo.
03/20/24: A child was reportedly killed and around a dozen others injured when an IED attached to a car detonated in the al-Sirb neighborhood on the northwestern outskirts of Manbij city. Pro-opposition media reported that the attack was a targeted killing of an SDF commander though this was not confirmed by the latter.
03/21/24: Kurds across northern Syria celebrated Newroz, the new year holiday observed in parts of the Middle East and Central Asia around the spring equinox. With the rise of the various nationalist movements Kurdish Newroz has been a heavily politicized holiday over the last half century or so, with celebrations often hosted by specific parties. This was clear in AANES-controlled territory where large official celebrations were held by PYD-linked actors, featuring prominent displays of Apoçi imagery. ENKS-affiliated parties held smaller events across northeastern Syria for their loyalists (similarly including Barzani iconography). US soldiers attended an AANES celebration in Dêrik. Meanwhile in Afrin Newroz has slowly returned to the public sphere since initially being partially banned following the Turkish capture of the region six years ago. Likely in response to last year’s murders in Cindires in which several members of a Kurdish family where gunned down by SNA militants during a Newroz celebration, a number of prominent opposition figures and organizations made statements commemorating the holiday, including Syrian National Council president Hadi al-Bahrah who visited the victims’ family. Several SNA factions made a point sponsoring small Newroz celebrations in areas they control whereas others gatherings appear to have been less instrumentalized (video below: Newroz festivities on the banks of Lake Meydankey, filmed by an opposition media activist). Given the fractured state of the political and military opposition and the hands on/hands off approach taken by Turkey - the sovereign power in the region - the status of Newroz as a public holiday in Afrin will likely ebb and flow depending on internal and international conditions and the space awarded to it by the non-Kurdish actors in power.
Claimed Islamic State attacks against the SDF:
03/16/24: Attack targeting an SDF vehicle in al-Harijiyah, northern Deir ez-Zour, allegedly killing one fighter and injuring others.
03/16/24: Attack targeting SDF fighters in Barihah, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a number of them.
03/17/24: Attack targeting an SDF position in al-Shuhail, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a fighter.
03/19/24: Attack targeting two SDF fighters on the road between al-Suwar and al-’Izbah, allegedly resulting in their capture and killing.
03/20/24: Attack targeting the gates of the SDF’s “General Security” headquarters in al-Busayrah, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a number of fighters.
03/21/24: Attacking targeting an SDF position in al-Dahlah, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a fighter. SDF-aligned North Press Agency reported on the attack prior to the Islamic State claiming responsibility.
03/21/24: Attack targeting an SDF fighter traveling by motorcycle in Gharanij, eastern Deir ez-Zour, allegedly killing him. This was later confirmed by the SDF-affiliated Hajin Military Council.