A ceasefire holds in Syria but civilians live with fear and resentment

QAMISHLI: Fighting this month between Syria’s government and Kurdish-led forces left civilians on either side of the frontline fearing for their future or harboring resentment as the country’s new leaders push forward with transition after years of civil war.

The fighting ended with government forces capturing most of the territory previously held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the country’s northeast, and a fragile ceasefire is holding. SDF fighters will be absorbed into Syria’s army and police, ending months of disputes.

The Arab-majority population in the areas that changed hands, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, have celebrated the SDF’s withdrawal after largely resenting its rule.

But thousands of Kurdish residents of those areas fled, and non-Kurdish residents remain in Kurdish-majority enclaves still controlled by the SDF. The International Organization for Migration has registered more than 173,000 people displaced.

Fleeing again and again