Abstract
After more than a decade of brutal civil war, it took Islamist militants just 11 days to sweep through Syria and topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The offensive, which has been driven by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has forced many residents in western Syria to flee their homes in search of safety.
While these events have been unfolding, the situation in a de facto self-governing region in the country’s north-east called the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (also known as Rojava) has not received much attention in the international media. Emboldened by the success of the rebel offensive, the SNA is looking to gain ground in the region.
The region’s governing body has called the fall of Assad a significant moment and expressed hopes for a new chapter in Syria. And Rojava’s powerful armed groups, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have both also expressed optimism about the fall the Assad regime.
