RAQQA  - DIVIDED CITY

After 14 years of war, Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad is finally gone. But the north-east of the country, controlled by Kurdish forces, is under attack from Turkey and pro-Turkish militias. And conflicts are erupting within the Kurdish-dominated autonomous administration - while most Kurds see the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) as the only hope for security, many Arabs see them as an occupying force and are waiting for Ahmed al-Sharaa's people to take over.

In Rakka, the strategic city on the Euphrates that once served as the capital of the so-called Islamic State caliphate and lies at the interface between the self-governing areas and those controlled by the new Syrian rulers, the people are divided. Can Syria be reunited - and on what terms?

• RAQQA, SYRIA - WINTER 2025