Life returns to normal in terror-free Tal Abyad with modern facade of Syrian town

By Esref Musa

TAL ABYAD, Syria (AA) – Liberated from terrorists, northern Syria’s Tal Abyad town has now a modern facade with newly repaired and decorated roads, streets and electrical poles thanks to the efforts of a Turkish-backed local council.

The local council is renovating some of the public buildings and infrastructure that have been neglected for years by the Assad regime and destroyed by the YPG/PKK terrorists while fleeing the town.

The town center, main road, and pavement were all renovated to improve vehicle and pedestrian movement.

Salih Haj Abdullah, speaker of the Tal Abyad Local Council, told Anadolu Agency that the town's infrastructure, which was damaged and destroyed during the war, is still being restored.

Abdullah stated that the project's construction, which will include a shopping center, a pharmacy, and a grocery marketplace, is already underway in order to prevent a disproportionate increase in the prices of medicines, basic food materials, and vegetables.

He assured that they will continue to make efforts to provide electricity and expand roads to rural areas.

"A total of 3,000 square meters (32,300 sq feet) of cobblestone have been laid, with an additional 22,000 square meters (236,800 sq feet) to be built. We don't have a magic wand, but things will get better in the coming days. This year will be the year of Tal Abyad's growth and development, with completed and ongoing projects," he said.

"Previously, the streets were dark, but now, shops are open until late at night," Abbodi Silo, a local resident, told Anadolu Agency, expressing happiness with the town's ongoing developments. "Tal Abyad has undergone incomparable transformations from its prior appearance."

Raed Dehish, a resident of a nearby village, commented that he noticed new improvements being done every time he visited the town from his village and that "the installation of the electrical poles gave the city life."

He added that the council's gas station and furnace initiatives also prevented monopolization and disproportionately rising pricing.

The current renovation and development works were carried out neither during the Assad regime nor the days of the YPG/PKK terrorist group’s control of the town, he said, adding that the people of Tal Abyad have constructed new buildings and opened shops in the market area.

Hussein Darwish, who works at the council’s concrete and cobblestone facility, described his workplace as "the heart of Tal Abyad" because it produces the materials utilized in the city infrastructure building.

He stated that the infrastructure and public service buildings in the town are renewed and improved with the materials obtained from it.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

According to the UN Refugee Agency, some 6.6 million Syrians have been forced to leave the country over the past decade.