The Raqqa Internal Security Forces ( RISF ) ( Arabic : قوات الأمن الداخلي في الرقة , romanized : Quwwāt al-ʾAmn ad-Dāḵilī fi'r-Raqqah ) are a police unit that was formed in 2017 by the Syrian Democratic Forces , supported by the United States and Jordan , to handle the security in southern Raqqa Governorate , including Raqqa city, after the region's conquest from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant . The United States provide the majority of funding for the force and consider it to be part of the Syrian opposition . The RISF also have their own Quick Reaction Force.
19-570: On 17 May 2017, the Raqqa Internal Security Forces (RISF) were established as new police unit, with the first training course being set up in Ayn Issa . The first 50 recruits were all Arab men and women, some of them former members of the Asayish , and trained by U.S. and Jordanian instructors "on how to conduct patrols, diffuse disputes, deal with car bombs and suicide bombers, and how to man
38-546: A Syria-Iraq pipeline runs. On 3 July, the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights (SOHR) said that all towns and villages on the route from Abu Kamal to Al-Bab, passing through Raqqa governorate , were now under ISIL control. Only the provincial capital Deir ez-Zor and the military airport were outside of it. The city of Deir ez-Zor was split between President Bashar al-Assad 's forces and an amalgam of rebel groups. In 2014 ISIL militants massacred an estimated 900 members of
57-450: A checkpoint". After the graduation of this first batch of police officers, the unit was gradually expanded, also recruiting Kurds ; the long-term goal for the unit is to have at least 3,000 members in order to enforce law and order in Raqqa and restore stability. The RISF further expanded on 20 July, as 250 more recruits finished their training; by this point, the unit had around 800 members and
76-609: A facility in the governorate that Israel claimed was a nuclear site in Operation Outside the Box . The complex was suspected of holding nuclear materials from North Korea . In 2011, the IAEA confirmed it had been a nuclear weapons site. In the course of Syrian Civil War , as the Syrian Army has concentrated its forces on wresting back control of Aleppo, rebels have slowly gained ground in
95-510: A location in Raqqa Governorate , Syria is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( Arabic : مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC : Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr ) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria . It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq . It has an area of 33,060 km (12,760 sq mi) and a population of 1,239,000 (2011 estimate). The capital
114-665: Is Deir ez-Zor . It is divided roughly equally from northwest to southeast by the Euphrates . Most of the territory on the river's left (northeast) bank is part of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria , while that on the right (southwest) bank is controlled by the Syrian government . The governorate is divided into three districts ( manatiq ). The districts are further divided into 14 sub-districts ( nawahi ): On 6 September 2007 Israel attacked and destroyed
133-736: Is a town in the Tell Abyad District of Raqqa Governorate in Syria . It is located halfway between the Syria–Turkey border town of Tell Abyad and the regional capital Raqqa . Through the city runs the M4 highway connecting Aleppo with the Hasakah Governorate . In June 2015, Ayn Issa was taken over by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, Women's Protection Units (YPJ), and
152-584: The Al-Shaitat tribe in the governorate, following resistance to the group's control of the area. In early 2016, fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces entered the governorate following the Al-Shaddadi offensive . Until October 2017, ISIL controlled all of the countryside, while Syrian Government forces held out in the capital. On 14 October 2017, Russia confirmed that Al-Mayadeen was recaptured by
171-735: The Raqqa Revolutionaries Brigade in the course of their Tell Abyad offensive . While it was shortly recaptured by ISIL militants, it was reclaimed by the YPG in early July. On 14 October 2019, the Syrian Army entered and established joint control over Ayn Issa after an agreement with the SDF to prevent the Turkish offensive in the area. It became the seat of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in September 2018. Since April 2016,
190-591: The Ayn Issa refugee camp on the outskirts of the town has housed approximately 9,000 refugees by July 2018, mainly Syrian Internally Displaced Persons from the governorates of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa . On 23 November 2020, clashes broke out between the SNA and SDF near Ayn Issa. On December 1, Lebanon 's al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the SDF managed to ambush Turkish-backed forces, killing 30 fighters. This article about
209-646: The Syrian army amid a major offensive. The military fully secured Deir ez-Zor city on 3 November and on 17 November 2017, ISIL surrendered the island of Hawijat Kati, bringing all areas around the city under Army control following the two-month offensive . On 23 October 2017, the Syrian troops began an offensive towards Abu Kamal , being ISIL's last stronghold in the governorate. The city was captured on 19 November 2017 after changing hands three times. In 2018 ISIL started insurgency in Deir ez-Zor. Arabs constitute about 90% of
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#1732858604684228-560: The al-Mashleb neighborhood in November. By December 2017, the Raqqa Internal Security Forces had also begun policing Ayn Issa and surrounding areas. In May 2018, tensions built up between members of Arab tribes, most notably the Syrian Democratic Forces group Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa , and the rest of the alliance and the RISF over recruitment issues in Raqqa . A curfew was put in place in both Raqqa city and
247-495: The army controlled not more than five fields, all located to the west of Deir ez-Zor city. Residents in Deir ez-Zor used crude oil for heating and agriculture for lack of fuel. On 1 January 2013, it was reported that two thirds of Deir ez-Zor Governorate was under rebel control. On April 11, 2014, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) withdrew from Abu Kamal to the T2 oil site, where
266-626: The eastern tribal heartland, aiming to control the country's 200,000 barrel-a-day oil output. In August 2012, units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) targeted the remaining isolated outposts of the Syrian Army forces in north-east Syria, where the FSA controls all the main roads. There were said to be only 3 Army outposts left in Deir ez-Zor province countryside and they were under attack. On November 30, 2012, Syrian troops withdrew from Omar oil field , one of
285-517: The last regime positions east of Deir ez-Zor city near the Iraqi border. This meant that the rebels controlled the country's major fields. This happened after Syrian troops lost the Conoco gas reserve on November 27. The insurgents took control of an oil field for the first time on November 4 when they overran Al-Ward, the most important in the province. After also losing control of Al-Jofra field also in November,
304-561: The organization. These pardons were facilitated by the Raqqa Civil Council, which wanted to gain the support of Raqqa Governorate's population, much of which had cooperated with or at least tolerated Islamic State . After the end of the Battle of Raqqa in October 2017, the Syrian Democratic Forces gradually began to hand over security responsibilities in the city to the RISF, beginning with
323-523: The population of the governorate, a vast majority being Sunni Muslims . In the 1980s, some Arabs converted to Shia Islam whose population do not exceed 5,000. About a thousand Christians live in the governorate as well. The most significant Arab tribes are the Bu Kamal, the Shuwayt, Al-Shaitat , Bakir, Bu Kamil, Mashahda, Bu Khabour, Qaraan and Bu Hassan who all are part of the 'Egaidat confederation. Beside
342-525: The rest of the governorate on 23 June, as the Syrian Democratic Forces and RISF besieged Thuwar al-Raqqa's headquarters and arrested between 90 and 200 of its members the next day. By 25 June, the Syrian Democratic Forces and RISF had captured all of Thuwar al-Raqqa fighters and their weapons in Raqqa , completely defeating the group, and the curfew was ended. Ayn Issa Ayn Issa ( Arabic : عين عيسى , also spelled Ain Issa . Meaning Spring of Jesus )
361-529: Was already policing various areas in the Raqqa Governorate. By early August, 230 additional recruits graduated and joined the force, bringing it to around 850 members. Further 320 recruits completed their training in August. By 16 August, the RISF was around 80% Arab and 20% Kurdish according to CJTF–OIR . RISF also began to release Islamic State members from prison who had only worked with, and not fought for,
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