• Director(s):

    NIVELLE - CARDINALE (SOPHIE)

  • Producer(s):

    ARTE G.E.I.E, KHEOPS PRODUCTION

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2017

  • Language(s):

    German, French

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

Kurdish forces backed by the international coalition entered the Syrian town of Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the so-called Islamic State since 2013. It is the culmination of an offensive that began last November 

Gathered under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), 30,000 men backed up by the aviation of the US-led coalition are engaged in the battle of Raqqa. The military operation – codenamed  “Wrath of the Euphrates” – is already a success, symbolized by the recapture of the Tabqa dam, the biggest in Syria, located 40km upstream of Raqqa.
Kurdish forces have now taken over this strategic location. Having only just gotten rid of the Islamic State, the Syrian youth is drafted again with the West’s blessing. The SDF ensure their political formation and the United States their military formation.
We followed Abou Khalil, a local Arabic officer who recently joined the SDF. He is now a commanding officer for Tabqa and is now a go-between for the YPG and the local tribes. This exclusive reportage shows Raqqa, Tabqa, and the liberated zones where Kurdish fighters of the YPG, the armed branch of the Kurdish Democratic Party, are now ruling.