Activists Condemn SDF’s Arrest of 16 Journalists in Syria's Raqqa

Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Activists Condemn SDF’s Arrest of 16 Journalists in Syria's Raqqa

Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said on Sunday that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detained at least 16 journalists in Raqqa on July 30.

This came as activists revealed that the Kurdish-led SDF forces have arrested media figures as part of a security campaign in Syria’s northeastern province.

They said the SDF arrested several journalists working in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and in independent media outlets in Raqqa.

The SNHR report said the 16 arrested journalists were held by the SDF’s intelligence apparatus on Saturday under the pretext of “espionage.”

Meanwhile, activists indicated on their Twitter accounts that a large-scale arrest campaign was launched in Raqqa, targeting media professionals including Ruba Al-Ali, an employee at Hawar Agency, Ammar Al-Khalaf from the Euphrates Heritage Agency and formerly at Hawar, Ammar Haidar, who works at North Press and previously at Hawar, Khaled Al-Hassan in the education committee of the Raqqa Civil Council, and Batoul Al-Hassan in the youth media committee and the “Better Tomorrow” organization, in addition to Abdul Karim Al-Raheel, an employee of the Raqqa Civil Council.

According to the Syrian Press Center, the activists said all the detained journalists were from institutions located in the self-styled Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, adding that a number of activists in Raqqa are currently hiding over fears of arrest.

SNHR said the SDF follows a policy similar to the Syrian regime forces during arrest operations, which are not based on any prior judicial warrants.

It said the SDF kidnap the journalists from roads, markets, and public places, or they raid the headquarters of the media agencies and civil groups.

The network expressed fear that the arrested journalists will be subjected to torture during the investigation, and they will be among the forcibly disappeared, similar to the fate of 85 percent of detainees and the disappeared.



Sisi, King Abdullah Agree that Gaza Should Be Rebuilt Without Displacing Palestinians

Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Sisi, King Abdullah Agree that Gaza Should Be Rebuilt Without Displacing Palestinians

Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip, 12 February 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II said that Gaza should be rebuilt without displacing Palestinians, Egypt's presidency said in a statement reporting a phone call between the two on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump has continued to push for a plan to resettle the Palestinian population to both Egypt and Jordan, a proposal both countries have rejected repeatedly.

King Abdullah rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians after meeting with Trump on Tuesday.

During the meeting at the White House, Abdullah volunteered to accept up to 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or otherwise require medical treatment.
But in a post on X after the meeting, he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank," adding that it was a "unified Arab position.”

The Palestinians also reject Trump's plan, which they view as an attempt to forcibly displace them from part of their homeland.