CNN back in Iraqi Kurdistan after a short period in northern Syria (Rojava).
"As we left Syria, Kurdish volunteers were preparing for battle. One fighter told us, America always follows its interests and then moves on everywhere we went, the anger at the US was palpable."
With dangerously cold temperatures and conditions expected, please seek shelter if you need a warm place to stay.
Warming centers are run by local officials. TEMA maintains an interactive map of centers operating throughout the state: https://t.co/YPiMlQ8VmV
If you need assistance or have questions about shelters for your area, please contact your local emergency management agency.
Kurdish women from around the world have come together in a powerful act of solidarity, braiding their hair as a symbol of protest. Their gesture responds to shocking footage of a Damascus-affiliated militant proudly boasting about severing the braid of a Kurdish female fighter.
The Syrian government's rapid takeover of territory long held by the Kurdish-led SDF took shape in a string of high-stakes meetings in Damascus, Paris and Iraq earlier this month. In a nutshell: U.S. did not stand in the way.
https://t.co/kU3zmoHEE6
Tens gather outside the US Consulate in Erbil to protest in support of the Kurdish community in northeast Syria (Rojava), amid an ongoing military escalation by Damascus-affiliated forces.
Damascus-SDF agreement:
📌An immediate and comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts and contact lines between the Syrian Government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), along with the withdrawal of all SDF military formations to the east of the Euphrates River as a preliminary step for redeployment.
📌The full and immediate administrative and military handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governorates to the Syrian Government. This includes the transfer of all civil institutions and facilities, with the immediate issuance of decrees to permanentize current employees within the specialized ministries of the Syrian state.
📌Integrating all civilian institutions in al-Hasakah Governorate into the institutions of the Syrian state and its administrative structures.
📌The Syrian Government shall take control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian state, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas.
📌The full integration of all SDF military and security personnel into the structures of the Syrian Ministries of Defense and Interior on an individual basis following necessary security vetting, granting them military ranks, financial entitlements, and logistical requirements accordingly.
📌The leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commits to refraining from incorporating remnants of the former regime into its ranks, and to providing lists of officers from the former regime’s remnants present in areas of northeastern Syria.
📌The issuance of a presidential decree appointing a nominee to assume the position of Governor of al-Hasakah, as a guarantee of political participation and local representation.
📌The removal of heavy military presence from the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), the formation of a security force drawn from the city’s residents, and the retention of a local police force that is administratively affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Interior.
📌The integration of the administration responsible for the file of ISIS prisoners and camps, as well as the forces responsible for securing these facilities, with the Syrian government, so that the Syrian government assumes full legal and security responsibility for them.
📌The adoption of a list of candidates submitted by the SDF leadership to hold high-ranking military, security, and civil positions within the central state structure to ensure national partnership.
📌Welcoming Presidential Decree No. 13 of 2026, which provides for the recognition of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights and for addressing outstanding rights-based and civil issues — including those of unregistered/stateless persons and accumulated property-rights claims from previous decades.
📌The SDF commits to the removal of all non-Syrian Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leaders and members outside the borders of the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure sovereignty and regional stability.
📌The Syrian state commits to continuing the fight against terrorism (ISIS) as an active member of the International Coalition, in coordination with the United States, to ensure the security and stability of the region.
📌Working toward understandings concerning the safe and dignified return of the residents of the Afrin and Sheikh Maqsoud areas to their homes.
Kurdish boxer Agit Kabayel became the WBC Heavyweight World Champion last Saturday. After the match, Kabayel expressed solidarity with the Kurds in Syria: “Bijî Kurdistan! (Long live Kurdistan!) Greetings to everyone coming from my homeland. We do not accept what is currently happening in Rojava under any circumstances.”
Scenes from outside Nashville’s ICE Field Office during this morning’s vigil for Renee Nicole Good.
Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. A second vigil is planned for 4 pm in downtown Nashville.
Tennesseans across the political spectrum are worried about their finances, according to a Vanderbilt University poll.
Roughly 87% of respondents said the daily cost of living is too high.
https://t.co/Ct4kxIU6U5
The Kurdish American Dream:
“For more than three decades, Kurdish refugees have found a safe place to land in Nashville. But the newest arrivals are experiencing a more skeptical reception.
The latest wave of Kurds arriving from Turkey flee political repression and nationalist hate groups.”
@WPLN
https://t.co/Cksgi4hUWA
Such an honor! My podcast for @WPLN, “The Country in Our Hearts,” has been awarded “Best Audio Storytelling.”
Thank you to @NashvilleScene and, as always, to all the people who shared their time and stories with me ❤️
https://t.co/EnZlRqzXp3
Catch WPLN’s @roseamgilbert on @NC5 tonight at 7 pm! She’ll be talking with @NC5_BenHall about her podcast, “The Country In Our Hearts.”
It’s the story of one family’s migration odyssey from Iraqi Kurdistan to Nashville.
https://t.co/qwyqcOtA89
WPLN's @roseamgilbert traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan to learn about the homeland of many Nashville Kurds.
Halabja loomed large as the site of a 1988 chemical attack. Rose interviewed Mayor Nuxsha Nasih, the first woman appointed mayor there:
https://t.co/WVza5O1pns
A small town in rural Tennessee will soon be the site of a privately-run ICE detention center.
The 600-bed facility is meant to house ICE detainees from across the mid-South.
Local officials narrowly approved the contract at a contentious townhall.
https://t.co/vVg5gPgBDG
The Boring Company's Nashville project raises concerns with residents and experts who worry that the tunnel could increase risks for sinkholes or disrupt the underground flow of water. https://t.co/TNR9rFOLMt
This week's “Good Trouble” rallies are inspired by by the late civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis.
Nashville played a key role in his legacy of non-violent collective action.
https://t.co/Cq5qafNloM
For over three decades Kurdish refugees have found a safe place to land in America. The latest wave of Kurds is arriving from Turkey – fleeing political repression and nationalist hate groups. But today, they’re coming to a very different America. It’s an America in
When a wave of Kurdish refugees came to Nashville, they quickly got to work. They opened businesses and raised their kids. As those kids grew up, they had to figure out how to navigate the world of a first-generation Kurdish-American teenager. And in that world, a new threat