Jake HanrahanVerified account

Thank you mate. Believe it or not, by complete chance, I bumped into a lad from Cizre living in Kobane. We drank coffee with HPX guys and he put the doc on lol.https://twitter.com/kurdiialii/status/1156275999321010176 …

Just want to say thanks very much to @IwriteOK who got us out there and and to one of the best people I’ve ever worked with @khabat_abas. / Thread

To add: I was there independently. I wasn’t part of any sort of delegation, I wasn’t on an SDF press tour, and the fixer was not part of YPG. We chose where we went and what we did and who we spoke to. Not a single thing was denied.

I’m sure in DeirEzzor there are worse issues regarding this, but the history of DeirEzzor and the fact there’s evidence former ISIS have infiltrated SDF security forces there says a lot. Again, the “SDF doesn’t trust Arabs” narrative, from my perspective at least, is incorrect.

There are plenty of problems with the self-administration there (after all, it’s very much still a warzone) but the integration of Arabs and listening to locals was not a huge problem as far as I could see.

All of them though were happy to express their dissatisfaction openly and on the record, including posing for photos. They all agreed that they were happy with the security situation though and none wanted to go back to regime control, and certainly not ISIS.

We spoke to Arab locals on the streets in Tal Tamer, mostly shop owners, who said they weren’t 100% happy with SDF control. One was angry he couldn’t have two wives under new admin. One said he didn’t like seeing women have so much power. One, the oldest, said he was all for it.

- Qamishli Asayis—mixed Arab and Kurd patrols, checkpoints, and bases. Women armed with hijabs. When asked about it: * shrug * “It’s normal for us.”

- Commander of Raqqa internal security forces unit—Arab. - New YPJ academy in Ain Issa—90% Arab recruits. - Checkpoints leading into Raqqa—almost all were manned by mixed Arab and Kurdish Asayis.

- Internal security forces unit patrolling Raqqa—all Arab. Most of them were from Raqqa and said they joined SDF after seeing ISIS chased out (at the cost of massive destruction to the city from US air support, which of course cannot be ignored).

- One of the top SDF press guys for Raqqa—Arab, lived in Raqqa under ISIS. Joined SDF after escaping. Speaks Arabic, not Kurdish. - One of the main security coordinators in al-Hol—Arab, from Afrin. She had deep bite marks up her arm where she’d been attacked by ISIS “brides”.

Here are some examples of Arabs being integrated and holding positions of power within the administration. - YPJ rep of Raqqa to Manbij Military Counil—Arab, from Manbij. She lived under ISIS. She was jailed and whipped 1500 times by three daeshis for wearing a white belt.