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Reposted by Dani Ellis

Charlie the Fox @sabcharlie.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Turkish proxy forces are being hit hard by the SDF on all fronts, but the Turkish military is refusing to be distracted, and remaining focused on their true enemy: grain silos and water pumping stations.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 26/12/2024

Huge flex by the main SDF spox here, dismissing claims that Turkish-backed forces have taken strategically vital Tishreen Dam by filming himself standing on it "Today is a day of dignity, a day of honour. Because this is not war against a dam, or against a village, this is a war against everything"

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 20/12/2024

Local journalists in North East Syria are so likely to be targeted by Turkey that their agencies get them to contribute to their own obituaries, while at the same time Western press are in Damascus asking the big questions like if Jolani will allow alcohol and christmas trees.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 20/12/2024

Not content with being one of the biggest jailers of journalists worldwide, Turkey seeks to control the narrative in Syria by murdering those they can’t arrest. Cîhan & Nazim made invaluable contributions from a region being mostly ignored by the international media.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 20/12/2024

Devastated to learn Turkey just killed 2 much-loved Kurdish journalists in Syria in a targeted drone strike. Nazim (left) was the first local journo I met when I joined the RIC. Both were fearless in their reporting from Syria in the face of constant threats to their lives.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 17/12/2024

I spoke to @jamesstout.bsky.social on the It Could Happen Here podcast about the current situation in Syria, and what it means for the future of Rojava: www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

iheart.com

What’s Happening In Rojava - It Could Happen Here

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 10/12/2024

A local friend tells me that the SNA member talking sounds like he has a Turkmen accent from around Aleppo, but it's not clear. The wounded men are likely Arabs and 'self defence' could refer to HXP, the conscript/national service force of AANES.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 10/12/2024

Very rough translation: SNA: Who are you? Army? How long are you fighting? W1: Well what can we do, we had to. SNA: And you? (to W2). You're army or PKK? W2: Self defence, border guard SNA: When were you shot? W2: Yesterday Then they execute both

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 10/12/2024

Turkey's SNA forces in Syria are sharing a video of them questioning and then executing wounded soldiers as they lay in their hospital beds. Not posting the video, but this is precisely the kind of thing we expected from Turkish forces based on previously documented warcrimes.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 08/12/2024

This absolutely does not mean that the city can hold out indefinitely, but it is a huge morale boost, proves that the SDF have learned important lessons from 2018-19 wars, and crucially shows that a multi-ethnic force can work effectively together under extreme pressure.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 08/12/2024

Pro-Turkish sources are still claiming that the city has fallen while Manbij Military Council members are freely moving about filming videos of the streets absolutely littered with SNA dead.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 08/12/2024

As details emerge from SDF and local sources, today’s impressive defence of Manbij is proof that a lightly armed but well prepared and highly disciplined defender can inflict intolerable losses on a more numerous & much better equipped attacker, even one with total air supremacy.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 08/12/2024

"The era of tyranny is over" Confident statement by NES's defacto foreign minister that follows similarly positive messaging from other noteable leaders. They've kept the democratic confederalist project alive until now, and I am cautiously optimitic they'll continue to do so.

The era of tyranny is over
Today we turn the page on the past and open the door of hope to unify the efforts of Syrians towards a better future based on justice and democracy.
Let us stop the shooting and make dialogue the basis for peace and construction.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 07/12/2024

...committed by Islamists since the fall of ISIS, amongst others the near-total ethnic cleansing of Afrin and now Shebha region of Kurds and other ethnic minorities. If Manbij is taken we will likely see a repeat of the rape, torture and brutal executions still ongoing in Shebha.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 07/12/2024

Entering a very dangerous period for Rojava; a massive assault on Manbij is underway. The SNA (opposition faction distinct from HTS) are attempting to capture the city from the SDF by attacking on 3 sides. The SNA have been responsible for some of the most apalling atrocities...

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Reposted by Dani Ellis

Charlie the Fox @sabcharlie.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

There's a lot of talk of strategic points and captured equipment and so on, but for me the main thing is that people can go to school, or the shops, or for a walk across town, without having to cross potentially hostile checkpoints. People can drive around the ring road. Life will be easier.

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Reposted by Dani Ellis

Charlie the Fox @sabcharlie.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Woke up this morning to news that the SDF control all of Hasakah and Qamişlo. It's amazing that this is how it ends, after all the blood that's been spilt over those enclaves.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 07/12/2024

End of an era in Qamişlo and Heseke as loyalist areas come under SDF control. Many large posters of Assad, lots of Zahreddine too, and a really amateur statue of Hafaz on the corner of the park. All will be pulled down over the coming days. Photo from my first full year in Rojava, 2019.

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Dani Ellis @lapinesque.com · 07/12/2024

Post-Assad Syria, what are you most looking forward to? 🚂 Restoration of Al-Ya’rubiyah-Damascus train line? 🛫 €29 Ryanair flights to Qamişlo? 🍫 Return of SnackBars (Syrian Snickers) at original price of $1 per dozen? ☠️ Ba’ath party loyalists getting the noose?