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العربية
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria Dozens of young men have fled towns in eastern Raqqa province in recent weeks, seeking refuge in government-controlled areas of western Deir Ezzor, as fears mount over a wave of arrests carried out by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Local residents and activists say the displacements, concentrated in the towns of Al-Sabkha and Ghanem Al-Ali, began earlier this month as the SDF intensified security operations targeting alleged collaborators and dissenters. Many of those fleeing have relocated to the towns of Al-Tabni and Al-Masrab, areas currently under the control of the Syrian government.
Ahmad al-Jumaa, a young man from Al-Sabkha, said he left for Al-Tabni to avoid being detained over recent comments he made on social media. “I didn’t feel safe anymore,” he told a local reporter. “People are getting arrested just for expressing opinions.”
The arrest campaigns, which have gripped Raqqa city and its surrounding areas, have prompted concern that the crackdown will soon spread to smaller villages in the eastern countryside. According to residents, dozens of young men have preemptively fled to avoid potential arrest, many seeking shelter with extended family in western Deir Ezzor.
The SDF, a Kurdish-led force that played a central role in defeating the Islamic State in Syria, has in recent months stepped up its security operations. While officials have cited threats from hostile actors and foreign agents, rights groups and local sources allege that many of the arrests are politically motivated.
The exodus from Raqqa highlights a growing sense of insecurity in areas once seen as relatively stable under SDF control and reflects broader tensions between local Arab communities and the Kurdish-dominated leadership of the SDF.
