Jubilant crowds waved Syrian revolutionary flags amid celebratory gunfire as Raqqa residents tore down symbols and statues of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who had controlled the city since 2017.
The scenes in the city on the north bank of the Euphrates River, about 160km east of Aleppo, were remarkably similar to the joyful gatherings that spread across Syria after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Hours after Syrian government forces took over the city, residents expressed hope that, for the first time since the civil war began, Syria might soon be unified.
“We want a united Syria,” Mohamed Al Ahmad, 51 told The National. The carpenter had joined friends in Al Naim Square, central Raqqa, to celebrate. “We’ve been oppressed for too long, and we hope we can all live together again in peace and stability,” he added. “We’re tired of everything. We want a state.”
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The takeover of Raqqa city and province was part of a rapid eastward push by Syrian forces into SDF-held territory. It resulted in significant gains over a few days, including the country’s main energy-producing regions.
The sweeping military offensive, which led Syrian forces to seize the key provinces of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, came after months of stalled negotiations between Damascus and the SDF, despite a March agreement between SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara.
The integration of the SDF – which until now controlled about 25 per cent of Syrian territory in the north-east of the country under an autonomous administration – into the Syrian army has been one of Mr Al Shara’s main challenges since he made reunifying the country a priority.
After days of fighting, a ceasefire was signed on Sunday between the two sides. According to the agreement, SDF forces are expected to merge with the country’s new military as individuals, a major blow for Kurdish authorities who had repeatedly demanded joining as a stand-alone unit.
'Second liberation'
In Al Naim Square, many Raqqa city residents spoke of their deep resentment of the SDF and, especially, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Kurdish separatist group in Turkey is designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the US and the EU. Kurdish groups within the SDF are viewed as the PKK's Syrian offshoots.
In Raqqa province's Tabqa, children could be seen stomping on a picture of the PKK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, smearing his face with mud.
“We lived under oppression, in fear of indiscriminate arrests and discrimination,” Mr Al Ahmad added. “They were too busy building underground tunnels, but no infrastructure for us.”
For him, Sunday's celebrations felt like a second “liberation” after the fall of the Assad regime.
The SDF, one of the most powerful groups in Syria during the civil war, also opposed the reign of Bashar Al Assad, whose iron-fisted rule was characterised by industrial-scale mass killing and a systematic torture apparatus. Backed by the US, the SDF gained international recognition for driving ISIS out of Syria.
But for many residents in Arab-majority provinces such as Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, SDF rule has at times echoed the same security-heavy governance Syrians associate with the former regime.
Raqqa residents said the repression intensified after the Assad regime fell. The SDF barred gatherings and any celebrations related to the ousting of the dictator. Fahed Hamid al Khalaf, a 13-year-old from Tabqa told The National he was detained by the SDF for days for waving Syria’s new flag.
'Building a state'
Last year, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented 1,108 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention across the country, including 768 attributed to the SDF. Among those detained by the SDF were 72 children and 14 women.
But Mr Al Ahmad insisted the resentment towards the SDF was not rooted in a stand-off between Kurds and Arabs. “They are our neighbours,” he said. “We work together, we share everything. Kurds are as Syrian as I am.”
The SDF has long been distrustful of the new government because of the background of some of the factions that helped topple Mr Al Assad, including Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a spin-off of Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), which has been accused of serious abuses against Kurds, particularly in northern Syria during Turkey’s 2015 offensive. Mr Al Shara was the leader of HTS.
Ahmad Al Nahar, 33, came with his family on Sunday to celebrate the end of SDF rule. He said it was time to begin a new chapter in Syria.
Standing in the same square where ISIS once carried out public executions and beheadings – and “things he can’t even describe” – he was hopeful for his children’s future. “I want to show them that we can build a state,” he said.
