In ruined Raqqa, cracks appear after the fall of the Assad regime

First the city was released from the tyranny of ISIS. Then it celebrated the ousting of Syria's unloved dictator. But the future appears far from certain for its war-weary residents

Destroyed neighbourhood in central Raqqa / David Pratt for The National

The former capital of the ISIS caliphate in Syria is not immune to international urban trends: in the ruined city, an ‘I Love Raqqa’ sign now stands in the middle of Al Naim Square, where just a few years ago the extremist group would display the severed heads of victims on fence posts.

After the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime on December 8th, the sign's lettering was hastily repainted in the colours of the Syrian revolutionary flag.

The newly painted sculpture, its colours already fading under Raqqa’s heavy dust, stands in contrast to its surroundings – collapsed houses and empty concrete buildings, their windows reduced to hollow black squares, still unrepaired since the ISIS war.

Once a stronghold of the opposition against Mr Al Assad before falling to jihadists, Raqqa now sees many residents rejoicing at the fall of the regime they long opposed. “No one could have been happier at the news” said Ammar Al Jassem, a young Raqqa activist who joined the anti-Assad movement in 2011. “I fought the Assad regime through my youth-led media activism and exposing its crimes, including repression and arbitrary arrests,” he added.

As a result of his activism, he was arrested twice by the regime’s security forces. “I was tortured for 12 days on charges of deserting military service despite being a student,” he said.

I Love Raqqa in Raqqa, Syria. Nada Maucourant Atallah / The National

A few days after Damascus fell to Islamist rebel groups in December 2024, marking the end of the Assad family's half-century of iron-fisted rule, hundreds gathered at the square to celebrate, singing revolutionary songs for the first time in over a decade – some hoping for Raqqa's reintegration into a unified Syria.

Since 2017, after the coalition and its Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) allies defeated ISIS in the city, Raqqa – a Sunni Arab-majority city – has been governed by the Kurdish-led authorities of the semi-autonomous region of north-east Syria.

But the gathering at the Al Naim Square quickly turned violent, as clashes erupted between protesters celebrating the regime’s downfall and SDF-affiliated security forces. Several were injured by gunfire, though it is not clear who initiated the shooting.

Online, pictures of murals reading “May the Qassad regime fall”, referring to the Arabic acronym for the SDF, were widely shared, a sign of the growing divide between Arab and Kurds. Discontent has long been brewing in other Arab-majority regions, such as Deir Ezzor, where the whole military council, made up of members of Arab tribes, defected from the SDF after the fall of the regime.

While some Raqqa residents may feel a closer ideological and sectarian affinity with the new Syrian government, the path to reunification remains long. Negotiations between the SDF and the HTS-led government – headed by former al Qaeda leader-turned-statesman Ahmed Al Shara – have encountered many hurdles. Kurds fear their hard-won gains will be jeopardised under the new administration and demand guarantees for minorities.

The SDF were not invited to take part in the Syrian national conference organised on Tuesday, despite the Syrian authorities saying that the event is in “support of an inclusive political transition in Syria and its swift economic recovery, reconstruction, and stabilisation."

HTS, born from the Al Nusra front – the Syrian offshoot of al Qaeda, – shares roots with the very groups the SDF has battled for years. And even if HTS has distanced itself from jihadist extremism, mistrust remains.

Raqqa has been under curfew since December 12 and calm had returned when The National visited the city last week. The SDF has raised Syria’s revolutionary flags on its official buildings and Mazloum Abdi, its general commander, congratulated Mr Al Shara on his appointment as president, inviting him to visit the region.

Syrian students walk to school past damaged buildings in the northern city of Raqqa, on September 23, 2021. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

A forgotten city

But for many Raqqa residents, exhaustion drowns out politics. “Many are disinterested in the political matter,” Ahmad, 42, a construction worker gathered with his friends around a makeshift stove in a dilapidated building, told The National. “People are more worried about the economy than politics: the real challenge is rent, ” he added.

Ahmad said that his earnings are around a $100 per month, while rent is as much or even more. “What do you do? You either steal or find another job,” he said.

“If you don’t work, you die,” his friend added. Refeaat works as a local employee with the administration. He earns 1.5 million Syrian pounds ($40 per month). His priority after having been through war, devastation and displacement, is stability.

“If we have security and jobs, it doesn't matter who is in charge,” he said. “Even if it were Israel,” he added, almost provokingly, glancing quickly at his friends, who began laughing dismissively. “No, no, I'm speaking the truth,” he insisted.

We don’t know Al Shara. We need to see how he rules. Look at how they ran Idlib. They are involved in everything – business, trade – they take a cut from everything, like every other group in Syria

Refeaat,
Raqqa resident

Both Refeaat and his friends said they remain cautious about the future. “The real risk is chaos. A transition doesn’t happen in one or two months. We are happy about the fall of the regime but also afraid about what’s coming next”.

Refeaat said that even though he is Sunni, that doesn't mean he automatically trusts the HTS ruling. ” We don’t know Al Shara. We need to see how he rules. Look at how they ran Idlib. They are involved in everything – business, trade – they take a cut from everything, like every other group in Syria,” he added.

Raqqa, Syria. Nada Maucourant Atallah / The National

Refeaat pointing at children cheerfully playing in the desolated neighbourhood around him said that he worries for them. "No education. No future. What is there to expect?”.

Raqqa is a forgotten city. Once at the centre of international attention during the ISIS war, it has long since faded from the headlines. The massive bombing campaign by the US-led international coalition, which defeated ISIS in 2017, has left deep scars from which it has yet to recover. Some residents still hold a grudge against the coalition for the massive destruction.

“When we came back, It was zero. Everything was destroyed. Still, not much has changed,” Umm Al Nemer, a Raqqa resident, told The National.

Another insists that things are much better now that ISIS is gone, like Umm Mohamed, 50, who stayed during their rule. “We all know their crimes, of course it’s better in that aspect under the Kurds”, she said. But the economic situation has lagged behind.

“It’s exhausting to live here. We have really seen it all. We just hope things get better.”