Civilians in Northeast Syria Bombarded by Turkish Drones and Strangled by US Sanctions
The Sweidiya station was just one of hundreds of civilian sites across Northeastern Syria that Turkey has targeted with drone attacks since October 2023. The relentless strikes have left a trail of devastation, crippling critical infrastructure that provides essential services to local populations. The US has remained largely silent as...
MoreAzerbaijani President Aliyev’s Territorial Claims on Armenia and the “Western Azerbaijan” Fallacy
Azerbaijani President Aliyev’s Territorial Claims on Armenia and the “Western Azerbaijan” Fallacy President Aliyev claims that Yerevan is an ancient Azerbaijani city and continues to pressure Armenia over the Zangezur corridor.
MoreAzerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh
2023 was a dark year for Nagorno-Karabakh, starting with Azerbaijan’s blockade, which lasted until Azerbaijan attacked and ethnically cleansed virtually the entire indigenous Armenian population.
MoreLife in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing
A month after Azerbaijan attacked and ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh, we spoke to the daughter of one of the very few people who stayed behind. Azerbaijani state media recently bragged about AZ establishing local telecom services, but the Armenians who stayed in NK don’t have internet or mobile connections, and they...
MoreKapan residents fear new Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia’s Syunik Province
“The international community hasn’t made Azerbaijan open the Lachin corridor or leave Syunik. Azerbaijan hasn’t been punished, so it will only continue.” Residents of Kapan say they don’t believe Azerbaijan wants peace, and don’t feel that Syunik is safe from further Azerbaijani attacks/occupation.
MoreCivilians in Sotk, Armenia endure Azerbaijani attacks
“How could we leave? This is our homeland. Aliyev wants to commit ethnic cleansing, but Armenia is a nation that fights. It’s a matter of survival.” Sotk, Armenia was among the areas hardest hit by Azerbaijan in the course of its September attacks. Azerbaijan continues to commit ceasefire violations in...
MoreNerkin Hand under Azerbaijani occupation: “Whatever we had here, Azerbaijan took it from us.”
“The Azerbaijanis are still occupying our territory. They cut off our drinking water. If they attack in the night, no one will be able to escape.” Residents of Nerkin Hand on Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggressions in Syunik.
MoreResidents of Shurnukh village worried about ongoing Azerbaijani threats and aggressions
“If you give Syunik to Azerbaijan, tomorrow, they’ll be in Yerevan.” Residents of border villages in Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Tavush hold differing opinions on the ongoing Azerbaijani aggressions, yet they share a common sense of worry. One woman in Shurnukh, a village divided after the 2020 war, worries that all...
MoreInside the Azerbaijani Government’s Cruel Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh
The Azerbaijani government has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh for 68 days under the guise of an “eco-protest”, trapping 120,000 people, causing shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials, and deliberately interrupting gas and electricity supplies in harsh winter conditions. Arman Tatoyan, Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan, advisor to Artsakh...
More“When I learned who Dylann Roof was, I began to admire him.”
Interviews with Ukrainian Ultranationalists As Ukrainian forces took control of Kherson on Friday, soldiers flooded social media with victorious pictures and videos of themselves in the city. Nazi insignia was abundant, including Azov Regiment’s Nazi Wolfsangel, Totenkopfs, Black Suns, and patches advertising Misanthropic Division, a neo-Nazi organization that has recruited...
More“I have a chance to kill some Russians.” Interviews with foreign volunteers in Ukraine
On February 27, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced the formation of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine and invited foreign nationals to come to Ukraine and join the fight against Russia. Foreign nationals, many with no prior military experience or training, heeded Zelensky’s call and poured into Ukraine. Months of...
MoreCivilians Who Fled Turkey’s Invasion of Ras al-Ain Say it’s Impossible to Live Under Murderous SNA Mercenaries
Washokani IDP camp in Hasakah, Syria houses 16k of the civilians who fled Ras al-Ain because of the 2019 Turkish/Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) invasion. “They murder, they loot, they kidnap people for ransom,” one camp resident says of Turkey’s SNA mercenaries. “How could we possibly live with them?”
MoreAzerbaijani Aggressions Against Armenia’s Syunik Province Continue
As the governments of Turkey and Armenia discuss normalization of relations, Azerbaijani incursions into and attacks on Armenia’s Syunik province continue. In November, Azerbaijani forces closed the Goris-Kapan and Kapan-Chakaten roads, isolating border villages in Syunik. “There is a clear contradiction between what is stated at the political level and...
More“We must force ourselves to come back to the life we had before.” Life after war in Artsakh.
I filmed this earlier in the year in Artsakh, just after Azat Adamyan, a veteran of both the 2016 and 2020 wars, reopened his bar, Bardak. “To give power to life, we must force ourselves to come back to the life we had before.”
MoreTurkish Nationalism in Germany: Causes, Effects, and ‘Hit Lists’
“The effects of indoctrination were already evident in kindergarten. One time, I brought a cassette tape featuring Turkish nationalist singers to school. Another time, when we were given big pieces of paper on which to paint, while my classmates painted flowers and bees, I painted the flag of the Turkish...
MoreOnly arrests made in case of Van men thrown from Turkish military helicopter: journalists.
On September 11, 2020, two Kurdish farmers, Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban, were thrown from a Turkish military helicopter in the southeastern province of Van, Turkey. Turgut died from his injuries on September 30th, and Turkish authorities implausibly claimed that he’d fallen from a high rock formation while trying to...
MoreDoxxed by a Turkish Troll
Two days before my birthday, an unsettling tweet appeared in reponse to something I’d posted. “In a few days you will be 37 years old and you still continue to waste ur life with producing lies about Turkey,” it said. I was mildly distressed when some cursory googling didn’t reveal...
More“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has their hands in everything that has to do with money here.”
“Every day is difficult. There is a constant sense of chaos,” said Mohamed Fajr*, a 22 year-old former Syrian National Army militant living in Atareb, a town in the Idlib countryside.
More“I Don’t Believe the Lie of the ‘Armenian Genocide.'”
Ozan*, a 19 year-old university student in Istanbul, has a popular Instagram account boasting nearly 100,000 followers. He sends me a direct message on Intagram every week or two. Usually, he replies to news I’ve reported with disbelief. “Why do you follow my account?” I asked him.
More“How Can We Peacefully Co-Exist?” A Former Armenian Prisoner of War Recounts His Horrific Captivity
In mid-October 2020, a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia contacted Anahit Gharayan and asked her to watch a video that Azerbaijani soldiers shared on a Telegram channel. In it, an elderly man is handed a small Azerbaijani flag while soldiers stand around him,...
MoreInterview with PKK Spokesman Zagros Hiwa in Qandil, Newroz 2021
“What happened in Gare was an attempt by Erdogan to invade all of south Kurdistan.” Lindsey Snell interviews PKK Spokesman Zagros Hiwa in Qandil, Newroz 2021.
MoreAzerbaijani Aggression in Armenia’s Syunik Province
Short video from Syunik, where locals say nearby Azerbaijani troops have been firing into their villages, and where the Azerbaijanis have placed a number of petty “Welcome to Azerbaijan” signs on the highways almost solely traveled by Armenians.
MoreAn Armenian in Qamishli, Syria on the Azerbaijani and Turkish War in Karabakh
A glimpse into how the Armenian community in Syria felt about the Azerbaijani and Turkish war in Karabakh. Turkish attacks on Northeastern Syria have been near constant since October 2019. Harotyon Madarjyan owns a music school in Qamishli. “They’re repeating what they did to us 100 years ago.”
More“Azerbaijan Would Have Already Lost Without Turkish Support.” The War in Karabakh in October 2020
Interviews with Armenian officials and civilians in October 2020 in Karabakh, as Azerbaijani forces relentlessly bombarded civilian areas and infrastructure. Filmed by Lindsey Snell.
MoreAn Armenian Soldier Prepares to Go to War in Karabakh
Mikayel left his college in the US to return to his home country of Armenia to join the fight against Azerbaijani forces in Karabakh.
MoreAzerbaijani War Crimes in Karabakh
Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman and civilians discuss Azerbaijani soldiers filming and proudly sharing their war crimes against Armenian servicemen and civilians in Karbakh during and after the war.
MoreISIS Women After Attempting to Escape al-Hol Camp
Al-Hol camp in Hasakah, Syria, holds roughly 70,000 women, children, and associates of ISIS members. Escape attempts are frequent. A handful of ISIS women who attempted an escape and were caught were interviewed.
MoreSpring Fair 2020 in Benghazi, Libya
At the Benghazi Spring Fair 2020, locals talk about the reconstruction of Benghazi after a decade of conflict, and representatives from the local Syrian community talk about rejecting Turkish terrorism in Libya.
MoreAfrin Under the Turkish and “Syrian National Army” Occupation
“The FSA rapes women in Afrin.” Lindsey Snell interviews an FSA militant and others for a look back on the Turkish invasion of Afrin and the replication of this invasion in other parts of Syria.
MoreA Look at the Mercenaries of Turkey’s So-Called Syrian National Army
A Look at the Mercenaries of Turkey’s So-Called Syrian National Army
More“We’re Fighting to Stay Here.” Armenians in Karabakh’s Border Villages Face an Uncertain Future
“We’re still fighting to stay in this village. Even if we had the means to leave, we wouldn’t, because this is a sacred place for us.” The ceasefire agreement in Artsakh has left villages bordering Azerbaijani territory vulnerable.
MoreArmenians in Yerevan Come Together in Support of Karabakh’s Displaced
Armenians in Yerevan Come Together in Support of Karabakh’s Displaced
MoreArtsakh After the Ceasefire
On September 27th, Azerbaijan launched attacks on Artsakh, including Stepanakert, its capital city. Turkey declared full support for Azerbaijan in the conflict. Azerbaijan’s staunchest ally, Turkey had already been supporting Azerbaijan militarily through arms sales and logistical support. Overnight, seemingly all of Armenia mobilized to support the war effort. Thousands...
MoreTurkey’s Syrian Mercenaries in Karabakh “Feel Tricked” as Bodies Pile Up
On September 22nd, I received several reports from sources inside the Syrian National Army (SNA), the umbrella organization of all Syrian opposition factions backed by Turkey, that the first deployment of SNA men to Azerbaijan had taken place. For months before this, rumors that Turkey would be sending militants to...
MoreA New Libya Ceasefire and the Syrian Mercenary Rumor Mill
On Friday, Fayez al-Sarraj, Prime Minister of the Turkey, Qatar, and UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), and Aguila Saleh, President of the Libyan House of Representatives, announced separate ceasefire statements. Both included a call to demilitarize the city of Sirte, though the proposed implementation details varied in each. The...
More“Tarhuna Feels Like a Ghost Town Now.” Civilians in Tarhuna Suffer Following the Libyan National Army’s Retreat
On June 5, militias affiliated with the Government of National Accord (GNA), a UN-backed interim government based in Tripoli, pushed into Tarhuna following a retreat by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Benghazi-based Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. “It was a humanitarian gesture intended to spare the Libyan people further...
More“From Destruction to Construction” in Eastern Libya
The drive from Benghazi to Derna, a port city in Eastern Libya is stunning. After passing through the al Kouf valley, the route continues past picturesque Greek ruins and down a coastal highway overlooking the vast, blue Mediterranean. We stayed at the Emilia Resort, a cluster of well-appointed tourist apartments...
More“These Mercenaries Believe Whatever Turkey Tells Them.”
As Syrian and Russian forces bombard Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, thousands of militants from the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) who would presumably be defending these areas in Syria are instead in Libya. They’ve been flown to Tripoli by Turkey, at the request of the Government of National Accord...
More“I Came for the Money.” Interview with a Turkish-Backed Syrian Mercenary in Libya
When Turkish President Erdogan announced he would be sending men from the so-called “Syrian National Army,” also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) to Libya to fight in support of the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, rumors among the Syrian opposition began to swirl. One TFSA...
MoreLNA Source: ISIS Member who Escaped SDF Prison in Syria Captured in Libya En Route to Europe
On January 19th, the German government hosted the two main warring parties in Libya, the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar, and the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez Sarraj, along with their foreign supporters, at a conference in Berlin to discuss the implementation of...
More“Turkish Products Become Money, Which Become Bullets.”
At a small grocery store in Derik, Syria, one dusty case of Sariyer soda water sits underneath a shelf. “The self-administration [of North and East Syria] gave us time to finish selling the Turkish products we had in stock, like this one,” said the store’s owner. “After this, we will...
More“Everyday, ISIS Detainees Try to Escape from Here”: Security Issues at Northeast Syria’s al Hol Camp Persist
The sprawling al Hol camp in Hasakah, Syria is a grim sight in the dead of winter. Aylu*, a YPJ member (women’s protection units, a group of female fighters in Northeastern Syria), is one of the camp’s administrators. “The situation hasn’t changed much since you were here last,” she said....
More“Everyone Who Could Flee, Did.”
When Turkey began bombing his village in Serê-Kaniyê in October, Jamil Khabat, his wife, and their young songs fled their home. “This is the third time I’ve had to leave my home because of Turkish attacks,” he said. “The last time, Turkey opened the border crossing and let [the militants]...
MorePKK Spokesman on Turkey’s Operation “Peace Spring”
The PKK sent their driver to get my cameraman and I from our Erbil hotel late in the afternoon. It was dark by the time we reached the Qandil Mountains. We were taken to a house in a village and told to wait, eventually receiving word that we wouldn’t be...
More“Our Bags are Packed.” Kobani Residents Prepare for a Turkish Attack
The center of Kobani, Syria is bustling, but the mood is grim. Shoppers and shop owners chat in hushed tones, trading the latest news and rumors they’ve heard about the increasingly tense and complex situation in the region. A banner hangs across one of the main streets, asking locals to...
MoreISIS Fighter Mohamed Amrouni Expresses ‘Deep Regret’
Mohamed starts to reminisce about the life he left behind. “I used to go to the beach with my brother, I used to love the beach, that was the kind of fun young people like,” he said, anxiously picking at his nails. “I only left Tunisia once before this. We...
MoreAzerbaijani President Aliyev’s Territorial Claims on Armenia and the “Western Azerbaijan” Fallacy
Azerbaijani President Aliyev's Territorial Claims on Armenia and the "Western Azerbaijan" Fallacy President Aliyev claims that Yerevan is an ancient Azerbaijani city and continues to pressure Armenia over the Zangezur corridor.
MoreAzerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh
2023 was a dark year for Nagorno-Karabakh, starting with Azerbaijan's blockade, which lasted until Azerbaijan attacked and ethnically cleansed virtually the entire indigenous Armenian population.
MoreLife in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing
A month after Azerbaijan attacked and ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh, we spoke to the daughter of one of the very few people who stayed behind. Azerbaijani state media recently bragged about AZ establishing local telecom services,...
MoreKapan residents fear new Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia’s Syunik Province
“The international community hasn’t made Azerbaijan open the Lachin corridor or leave Syunik. Azerbaijan hasn’t been punished, so it will only continue.” Residents of Kapan say they don’t believe Azerbaijan wants peace, and don’t feel...
MoreCivilians in Sotk, Armenia endure Azerbaijani attacks
“How could we leave? This is our homeland. Aliyev wants to commit ethnic cleansing, but Armenia is a nation that fights. It’s a matter of survival.” Sotk, Armenia was among the areas hardest hit by...
MoreNerkin Hand under Azerbaijani occupation: “Whatever we had here, Azerbaijan took it from us.”
“The Azerbaijanis are still occupying our territory. They cut off our drinking water. If they attack in the night, no one will be able to escape.” Residents of Nerkin Hand on Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggressions in...
MoreResidents of Shurnukh village worried about ongoing Azerbaijani threats and aggressions
“If you give Syunik to Azerbaijan, tomorrow, they’ll be in Yerevan.” Residents of border villages in Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Tavush hold differing opinions on the ongoing Azerbaijani aggressions, yet they share a common sense of...
MoreInside the Azerbaijani Government’s Cruel Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh
The Azerbaijani government has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh for 68 days under the guise of an “eco-protest”, trapping 120,000 people, causing shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials, and deliberately interrupting gas and electricity supplies in harsh...
More“When I learned who Dylann Roof was, I began to admire him.”
Interviews with Ukrainian Ultranationalists As Ukrainian forces took control of Kherson on Friday, soldiers flooded social media with victorious pictures and videos of themselves in the city. Nazi insignia was abundant, including Azov Regiment’s Nazi...
More“I have a chance to kill some Russians.” Interviews with foreign volunteers in Ukraine
On February 27, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced the formation of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine and invited foreign nationals to come to Ukraine and join the fight against Russia. Foreign nationals, many with...
MoreCivilians Who Fled Turkey’s Invasion of Ras al-Ain Say it’s Impossible to Live Under Murderous SNA Mercenaries
Washokani IDP camp in Hasakah, Syria houses 16k of the civilians who fled Ras al-Ain because of the 2019 Turkish/Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) invasion. “They murder, they loot, they kidnap people for ransom,” one...
MoreAzerbaijani Aggressions Against Armenia’s Syunik Province Continue
As the governments of Turkey and Armenia discuss normalization of relations, Azerbaijani incursions into and attacks on Armenia’s Syunik province continue. In November, Azerbaijani forces closed the Goris-Kapan and Kapan-Chakaten roads, isolating border villages in...
More“We must force ourselves to come back to the life we had before.” Life after war in Artsakh.
I filmed this earlier in the year in Artsakh, just after Azat Adamyan, a veteran of both the 2016 and 2020 wars, reopened his bar, Bardak. “To give power to life, we must force ourselves...
MoreTurkish Nationalism in Germany: Causes, Effects, and ‘Hit Lists’
“The effects of indoctrination were already evident in kindergarten. One time, I brought a cassette tape featuring Turkish nationalist singers to school. Another time, when we were given big pieces of paper on which to...
MoreOnly arrests made in case of Van men thrown from Turkish military helicopter: journalists.
On September 11, 2020, two Kurdish farmers, Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban, were thrown from a Turkish military helicopter in the southeastern province of Van, Turkey. Turgut died from his injuries on September 30th, and...
MoreDoxxed by a Turkish Troll
Two days before my birthday, an unsettling tweet appeared in reponse to something I’d posted. “In a few days you will be 37 years old and you still continue to waste ur life with producing...
More“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has their hands in everything that has to do with money here.”
“Every day is difficult. There is a constant sense of chaos,” said Mohamed Fajr*, a 22 year-old former Syrian National Army militant living in Atareb, a town in the Idlib countryside.
More“I Don’t Believe the Lie of the ‘Armenian Genocide.'”
Ozan*, a 19 year-old university student in Istanbul, has a popular Instagram account boasting nearly 100,000 followers. He sends me a direct message on Intagram every week or two. Usually, he replies to news I’ve...
More“How Can We Peacefully Co-Exist?” A Former Armenian Prisoner of War Recounts His Horrific Captivity
In mid-October 2020, a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia contacted Anahit Gharayan and asked her to watch a video that Azerbaijani soldiers shared on a Telegram channel. In...
MoreInterview with PKK Spokesman Zagros Hiwa in Qandil, Newroz 2021
“What happened in Gare was an attempt by Erdogan to invade all of south Kurdistan.” Lindsey Snell interviews PKK Spokesman Zagros Hiwa in Qandil, Newroz 2021.
MoreAzerbaijani Aggression in Armenia’s Syunik Province
Short video from Syunik, where locals say nearby Azerbaijani troops have been firing into their villages, and where the Azerbaijanis have placed a number of petty “Welcome to Azerbaijan” signs on the highways almost solely...
MoreAn Armenian in Qamishli, Syria on the Azerbaijani and Turkish War in Karabakh
A glimpse into how the Armenian community in Syria felt about the Azerbaijani and Turkish war in Karabakh. Turkish attacks on Northeastern Syria have been near constant since October 2019. Harotyon Madarjyan owns a music...
More“Azerbaijan Would Have Already Lost Without Turkish Support.” The War in Karabakh in October 2020
Interviews with Armenian officials and civilians in October 2020 in Karabakh, as Azerbaijani forces relentlessly bombarded civilian areas and infrastructure. Filmed by Lindsey Snell.
MoreAn Armenian Soldier Prepares to Go to War in Karabakh
Mikayel left his college in the US to return to his home country of Armenia to join the fight against Azerbaijani forces in Karabakh.
MoreAzerbaijani War Crimes in Karabakh
Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman and civilians discuss Azerbaijani soldiers filming and proudly sharing their war crimes against Armenian servicemen and civilians in Karbakh during and after the war.
MoreISIS Women After Attempting to Escape al-Hol Camp
Al-Hol camp in Hasakah, Syria, holds roughly 70,000 women, children, and associates of ISIS members. Escape attempts are frequent. A handful of ISIS women who attempted an escape and were caught were interviewed.
MoreSpring Fair 2020 in Benghazi, Libya
At the Benghazi Spring Fair 2020, locals talk about the reconstruction of Benghazi after a decade of conflict, and representatives from the local Syrian community talk about rejecting Turkish terrorism in Libya.
MoreAfrin Under the Turkish and “Syrian National Army” Occupation
“The FSA rapes women in Afrin.” Lindsey Snell interviews an FSA militant and others for a look back on the Turkish invasion of Afrin and the replication of this invasion in other parts of Syria.
MoreA Look at the Mercenaries of Turkey’s So-Called Syrian National Army
A Look at the Mercenaries of Turkey’s So-Called Syrian National Army
More“We’re Fighting to Stay Here.” Armenians in Karabakh’s Border Villages Face an Uncertain Future
“We’re still fighting to stay in this village. Even if we had the means to leave, we wouldn’t, because this is a sacred place for us.” The ceasefire agreement in Artsakh has left villages bordering...
MoreArmenians in Yerevan Come Together in Support of Karabakh’s Displaced
Armenians in Yerevan Come Together in Support of Karabakh’s Displaced
MoreArtsakh After the Ceasefire
On September 27th, Azerbaijan launched attacks on Artsakh, including Stepanakert, its capital city. Turkey declared full support for Azerbaijan in the conflict. Azerbaijan’s staunchest ally, Turkey had already been supporting Azerbaijan militarily through arms sales...
MoreTurkey’s Syrian Mercenaries in Karabakh “Feel Tricked” as Bodies Pile Up
On September 22nd, I received several reports from sources inside the Syrian National Army (SNA), the umbrella organization of all Syrian opposition factions backed by Turkey, that the first deployment of SNA men to Azerbaijan...
MoreA New Libya Ceasefire and the Syrian Mercenary Rumor Mill
On Friday, Fayez al-Sarraj, Prime Minister of the Turkey, Qatar, and UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), and Aguila Saleh, President of the Libyan House of Representatives, announced separate ceasefire statements. Both included a call...
More“Tarhuna Feels Like a Ghost Town Now.” Civilians in Tarhuna Suffer Following the Libyan National Army’s Retreat
On June 5, militias affiliated with the Government of National Accord (GNA), a UN-backed interim government based in Tripoli, pushed into Tarhuna following a retreat by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Benghazi-based Field...
More“From Destruction to Construction” in Eastern Libya
The drive from Benghazi to Derna, a port city in Eastern Libya is stunning. After passing through the al Kouf valley, the route continues past picturesque Greek ruins and down a coastal highway overlooking the...
More“These Mercenaries Believe Whatever Turkey Tells Them.”
As Syrian and Russian forces bombard Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, thousands of militants from the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) who would presumably be defending these areas in Syria are instead in Libya. They’ve...
More“I Came for the Money.” Interview with a Turkish-Backed Syrian Mercenary in Libya
When Turkish President Erdogan announced he would be sending men from the so-called “Syrian National Army,” also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA) to Libya to fight in support of the Government of...
MoreLNA Source: ISIS Member who Escaped SDF Prison in Syria Captured in Libya En Route to Europe
On January 19th, the German government hosted the two main warring parties in Libya, the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar, and the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez Sarraj,...
More“Turkish Products Become Money, Which Become Bullets.”
At a small grocery store in Derik, Syria, one dusty case of Sariyer soda water sits underneath a shelf. “The self-administration [of North and East Syria] gave us time to finish selling the Turkish products...
More“Everyday, ISIS Detainees Try to Escape from Here”: Security Issues at Northeast Syria’s al Hol Camp Persist
The sprawling al Hol camp in Hasakah, Syria is a grim sight in the dead of winter. Aylu*, a YPJ member (women’s protection units, a group of female fighters in Northeastern Syria), is one of...
More“Everyone Who Could Flee, Did.”
When Turkey began bombing his village in Serê-Kaniyê in October, Jamil Khabat, his wife, and their young songs fled their home. “This is the third time I’ve had to leave my home because of Turkish...
MorePKK Spokesman on Turkey’s Operation “Peace Spring”
The PKK sent their driver to get my cameraman and I from our Erbil hotel late in the afternoon. It was dark by the time we reached the Qandil Mountains. We were taken to a...
More“Our Bags are Packed.” Kobani Residents Prepare for a Turkish Attack
The center of Kobani, Syria is bustling, but the mood is grim. Shoppers and shop owners chat in hushed tones, trading the latest news and rumors they’ve heard about the increasingly tense and complex situation...
MoreISIS Fighter Mohamed Amrouni Expresses ‘Deep Regret’
Mohamed starts to reminisce about the life he left behind. “I used to go to the beach with my brother, I used to love the beach, that was the kind of fun young people like,”...
More