In Deir ez-Zor, councils and municipalities were formed as part of the autonomous administration of North and East Syria following the defeat of the ISIS caliphate in 2019. The region and the system of self-administration have recently come under renewed massive attack. Abdulrehman El Dixêvîj, Member of the Eastern Region Assembly of Deir ez-Zor, spoke to ANF about the attacks on Deir ez-Zor Canton and the people's loyalty to the Autonomous Administration in the face of the attacks.

El Dixêvîj emphasised that after the development of the Autonomous Administration, all the people in the region united around this system and started to organise their lives. El Dixêvîj stated that Deir ez-Zor is a geographically large region suitable for agriculture, especially rich in wheat and cotton cultivation. He said that after the liberation of Deir ez-Zor, a mosaic was created where the peoples and faiths in the region lived together, and that this system was established with a strong belief. He remarked that the people have become stronger and united in the face of political initiatives and attacks against Deir ez-Zor and drew attention to the fact that the recent attacks did not have a serious impact on the people, and that the people's trust in the Autonomous Administration made such attempts futile.

‘Forces trying to create chaos spread propaganda’

El Dixêvîj stated that the external anti-propaganda against Deir ez-Zor does not reflect the truth. “This propaganda is spread by the forces trying to create chaos in the region and some media organs act in line with the interests of these forces. After Deir ez-Zor was liberated by the SDF, legislative, justice and executive councils were established, and these councils continue their joint work. All institutions in the region are organised according to the laws of the Autonomous Administration and work to serve the people.”

El Dixêvîj pointed out that the Turkish state, the Damascus government and some regional forces are trying to cause turmoil in Deir ez-Zor and emphasised that these forces are conducting an intensive special war policy against the Autonomous Administration system, but that more than 500 thousand people in Deir ez-Zor are united around the Autonomous Administration system and the people's trust in this system is increasing day by day.

El Dixêvîj concluded: “The people's belief in the Autonomous Administration and SDF has not been broken in any way. In fact, these attacks have further increased our confidence in our own unity, defence power and administration. Anyone who disrupts people's system and jeopardises their security is an enemy of the people in the first degree. Those who try to sustain themselves through the lives of others will never succeed. During the attacks by the Damascus government and Difa al-Watani, our Assembly did not stop its work, but, on the contrary, worked harder to serve the people. The people stood by the SDF and these attacks were repelled thanks to the unity of the people and the SDF. The people will continue to stand by the SDF and their own administration. No attack will be able to break this unity, and we will resist all attacks.”