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SDF, dominated by the YPG terrorist group, seized an individual in Raqqa after he raised a banner during a demonstration that read, “We have the right to rejoice, SDF.”
The incident was reported by Syrian media organization Enab Baladi, which noted that several demonstrations erupted in Raqqa and Deir el-Zour to celebrate Liberation Day and to protest the SDF decision to ban public gatherings under the pretext of “security conditions.”
The SDF issued a directive on Saturday prohibiting celebrations on Dec. 7 and 8, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Deterrence of Aggression operation and the fall of the Assad regime and its security apparatus.
According to the report, protesters rejected the ban, asserting their right as Syrians to commemorate the regime's collapse.
Across the country, Syrians marked the first anniversary of Syria’s Freedom Day on Dec. 8, one year after the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule.
In Deir el-Zour, Enab Baladi correspondent reported that the village of Abu Hammam in the western countryside witnessed a Liberation Day demonstration despite the ban. No arrests were made, and the SDF did not intervene.
The council responsible for implementing the ban attributed the decision to heightened activity by “terrorist” cells attempting to exploit the anniversary to sow division and conduct attacks. It emphasized that the measure was taken to safeguard civilians and maintain civil peace.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba condemned the decision, saying it highlighted the SDF's failure to fulfill the role it claims, combating Daesh.
He argued the group fears that the occasion could spark civil disobedience in northeastern Syria against what he described as its “unjust laws” and “reckless practices.”
Despite the ban, SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi congratulated Syrians on the first anniversary of the fall of the “former regime.”
He said Syria entered a new chapter marked by the end of decades of authoritarianism and division. In a post on his X account on Dec. 7, he stressed that the country's next phase must be built on justice and serve the interests of all Syrians.
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