In the new Syria, the fierce fight against the Islamic State continues

Raqqa (Syria)"Do you see anything in that house?" That's the question Commander Kobani asks. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) He lets go of us as we approach a pair of isolated houses in the middle of the desert. There's no one on the entire road between us. We stop the car, and suddenly two soldiers, having changed their camouflage, appear and tell us to go inside. Inside, a larger group, perfectly equipped in dark green military uniforms, greets us.

"Welcome to the front line of Deir Hafir," the unit commander tells us. "There's fighting here every day; we're always ready," he explains. We're now led to the rooftop of the building, protected by the surrounding walls. We're under sniper fire. Just a kilometer away, we can see four large plumes of black smoke. "The Ukrainians should come and train us to use drones," the commander muses.

The reality of the war in northern Syria is very different from what we find in Ukraine. In Europe Warfare has become technological, and drones are causing havoc daily.In Deir Hafir, not even official cars are protected against these flying devices, and given their training and equipment, this type of warfare is unthinkable in this region of the Middle East.

The visit ends with a long interview in which Commander Kobani recounts the counterterrorism operations they carry out. He shows us a video recorded just the day before that captures the arrest of two individuals and displays several flags of the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra. "ISIS and Nusra are the same thing, currently," he tells us. He takes out another photo: the two alleged terrorists with that index finger pointing to the sky—a gesture popularized by ISIS in their propaganda videos of executions—and the Nusra flag in the background.

Raqqa breathes

We set off for Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State. On our last trip to this city, a few months ago, we saw a completely militarized place, full of checkpoints and masked men. This time everything is very different. There are only checkpoints On the main roads, although soldiers and a lot of police are visible, nothing is reminiscent of the main thoroughfares. in the atmosphere of war that prevailed in the first months after the fall of Al Asad

At night, however, the calm fades. As the sun sets, the fighting near Raqqa can be felt. Ambushes have been forced to occur on the city's outskirts or in nearby areas, avoiding the center of a city that had almost 300,000 inhabitants in 2019. However, Commander Nuhat, in charge of the special forces in the area, explains that there are increasingly more extremist groups in the region. "Every month there is an average of between 10 and 15 incidents, and the presence of ISIS has increased considerably, although the situation is very well controlled within the city," he says.

Nuhat invites us to patrol with him. We set off with three HumveasThe light armored vehicles seen in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of the patrol. The patrol has a specific objective: to simulate their presence. If all goes well, these routes are purely deterrent measures, but the commandos are also responsible for carrying out operations to arrest ISIS members. Commander Nuhat, who arrived in Raqqa in 2019, has participated in thousands of these missions, which typically involve between 20 and 100 men.

Alcohol and Infidels

Our hour-and-a-half route, thankfully, passed without incident. It's striking how naturally cars move aside to let the cyclists pass. HumveasOr how people remain unfazed when they see armed vehicles driving through crowded streets. Many of the soldiers who now make up the SDF, which has fought for Kurdish interests in Syria since 2015, are Arabs. Many chose to join the ranks under Kurdish command so that their service would be compensated with a salary and benefits, something unthinkable in any other armed force.

Cultural integration in Raqqa is not only evident in the composition of the forces that defend it. Civil activities also show signs of secularization that would have been impossible to foresee when the city was the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic Caliphate. On a half-empty, but not hidden, street, there is a liquor store. It is a small shop lit with colored lights where cars constantly stop. In just under an hour, about 30 people come to the liquor store and buy beer. arak and even—for those who can afford it—whiskey. One of the customers, in fact, was a Christian.

The fragile peace reigning in Raqqa, however, now faces a new turning point. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, The country added itself to the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State This Monday, after his visit to Washington. Joining this US-led coalition could mark a turning point in the Sunni-majority areas of Syria, which may see this agreement as a direct betrayal of their beliefs.

For this population, which was under ISIS control for yearsThere are ten precepts that make a Muslim a kafir (infidel). One of them, the eighth, is to support polytheists or atheists who fight against Muslims. No one can justify, therefore, Sunni Syrians taking sides with a group they see as diametrically opposed. The outlook is pessimistic. ISIS has already launched campaigns in Idlib, Damascus, and HomsAnd more attacks are expected. Sheikh Talal, of the Al Wilda tribe, one of the most powerful in Raqqa, is clear on this: "Al Sharaa will only survive this treaty if it directly protects the United States."