Updates from The Amargi about the situation in northern Syria. https://www.theamargi.com/posts/critical-phase-for-sdf-damascus-agreement-as-afrin-returns-start
Highlights:
re: the Women's Revolution: "Local sources report that research institutions centred on women’s studies, developed by Kurdish women and forming a key part of the DAANES curriculum, are advocating for the recognition of Kurdish gender studies – an initiative directly at odds with the ideology of the Islamist-led transitional government."
Re: possibilities for dusplaced Kurds to return to Afrin: "For many Kurds, the true measure of the agreement’s success rests in Afrin, a city with an overwhelmingly Kurdish population that has been under the control of Turkish-backed factions since 2018, when a Turkish military offensive drove out the vast majority of its Kurdish residents. In Aleppo, which also has a significant Kurdish population, Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafizeh face their own distinct set of security and administrative challenges.
On February 17, civil society institutions and DAANES began preparations for the return of approximately 500 displaced families from Afrin, in coordination with international bodies. Sunday’s joint security delegation visit to Afrin, followed by Monday’s assessment of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafizeh, represents the most concrete steps yet toward making those returns a reality.
But the road ahead remains steep. Turkish-backed factions have held onto control of Afrin, while the agreement’s clause on displaced persons, covering Afrin, Tel Abyad (Girê Spî) and Serekaniye, has yet to be meaningfully implemented at scale."
and finally, re: roadblocks to the implementation of the Jan 29 agreement"
"The durability of the agreement depends on factors beyond the control of either the SDF or Damascus, chief among them the stance of the Turkish-backed armed factions, whose continued presence in Afrin and around Kobani directly undermines the agreement’s core commitments. For thousands of displaced Kurdish families sheltering across northeastern Syria, the coming weeks will determine whether these delegations and committees translate into the long-awaited right to return home."
