SDF Says Raqqa to be Part of Decentralized Syria, Hails 'Historic Victory'

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign at the frontline in Raqqa, Syria October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign at the frontline in Raqqa, Syria October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said
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SDF Says Raqqa to be Part of Decentralized Syria, Hails 'Historic Victory'

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign at the frontline in Raqqa, Syria October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign at the frontline in Raqqa, Syria October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said

The defeat of ISIS in its Syrian bastion of Raqaa was a "historic" achievement, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces that led the months-long battle said Friday, adding the city would be part of decentralized Syria.

"We dedicate this historic victory to all humanity," said Talal Sello, spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF, at an official ceremony in the city.

"We in the general command of the Syrian Democratic Forces announce that we will hand over the administration of the city of Raqqa and the surrounding countryside to the internal security forces in Raqqa," Sello added, referring to part of a civil authority set up for the city.

But Sello said the handover would not be immediate, with SDF fighters - who took full control of Raqqa on Tuesday -still combing the city, which lies in ruins and littered with explosives.

"After the end of clearing operations... we will hand over the city to the Raqqa Civil Council," he said.

The RCC was created some six months ago, and is made up of local officials and tribal leaders who will face the daunting task of rebuilding the city.

"We pledge to protect the borders of the province against all external threats, and we confirm that the future of Raqqa province will be determined by its people within the framework of a decentraliized, federal democratic Syria in which the people of the province will run their own affairs," the SDF said, according to Reuters.

In a highly symbolic move, the press conference was held inside Raqqa’s sports stadium which ISIS militants had turned into an arms depot and a huge prison where they incarcerated and tortured their opponents.

Standing before a backdrop of shattered buildings, Sello urged the international community and aid organizations to assist with the city's reconstruction.

Raqqa become the de facto Syrian capital of ISIS’ self-styled "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq after the terrorist group captured it in 2014.

The SDF, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by the US-led coalition, broke into the city in June after months of fighting to surround it.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor estimates over 3,000 people, at least a third of them civilians, were killed in the fighting.

Associated Press drone footage from Raqqa showed the extent of devastation caused by weeks of fighting and thousands of bombs dropped by the US-led coalition.

Footage from Thursday shows the bombed-out shells of buildings and heaps of concrete slabs lay piled on streets littered with destroyed cars. Entire neighborhoods are seen turned to rubble, with little sign of civilian life.

The video showed entire blocks in the city as uninhabitable with knocked-out walls and blown-out windows and doors, while some buildings had several stories turned to piles of debris. The stadium appears to have suffered less damage compared with surrounding buildings.



Planes from Jordan and UAE Airdrop Humanitarian Aid into Gaza

28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)
28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)
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Planes from Jordan and UAE Airdrop Humanitarian Aid into Gaza

28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)
28 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Humanitarian aid supplies are airdropped by military cargo planes over the western part of Deir al-Balah. (dpa)

Two planes from the Jordanian and UAE Air Force airdropped 17 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza on Monday, Jordan's military said.

The aid packages come as hunger continues to soar across the enclave.

The airdrops took place for the second day as Israel faces increasing pressure over Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. However, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, warned that airdrops are “expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians.”

The 17 tons of airdropped aid amounts to less than one aid truck carrying food, based on the World Food Program’s calculation of nearly 19 tons per truck.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Germany intends to conduct an airlift of humanitarian aid to Gaza along with Jordan. 

Merz didn’t provide details of the plan after a meeting of his security Cabinet, but said his defense minister will consult with France and Britain, “which are also prepared to make available such an airlift for food and medical goods.” Jordan’s King Abdullah II is due to meet Merz in Berlin on Tuesday. 

Merz said Israel’s move to lift some aid restrictions is “an important first step” but “further ones must follow quickly.” He also stressed the need for a comprehensive ceasefire. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Spain will airdrop 12 tons of food aid into Gaza from Jordan later this week, via Spanish air force planes. 

Sanchez acknowledged this isn’t a solution to hunger, but hopes it offers “minimal relief” alongside aid from other nations. 

Spain’s government has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire. 

On Sunday, 180 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza, according to the Israeli military body in charge of overseeing humanitarian aid.

As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fueling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions.

On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks.