The Raqqa Internal Security Forces (RISF) () are a

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

unit that was formed in 2017 by the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

, supported by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, to handle the security in southern

Raqqa Governorate Raqqa Governorate (, Kurdish: ''Parêzgeha Reqa'') is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant claim ...

, including

Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...

city, after the region's conquest from the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

. The

provide the majority of funding for the force and consider it to be part of the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

. The RISF also have their own Quick Reaction Force.

History

Members of the Raqqa internal security forces

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 a checkpoint". After the graduation of this first batch of police officers, the unit was gradually expanded, also recruiting

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

; 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 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 The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

members from prison who had only worked with, and not fought for, 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

. After the end of the Battle of Raqqa in October 2017, the

gradually began to hand over security responsibilities in the city to the RISF, beginning with 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

group

Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa () was a rebel group in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in September 2012 in the Raqqa Governorate. Aligned with jihadist factions for its first years, at the end of 2015, it joined the Syrian Democratic Forces. During an ...

, and the rest of the alliance and the RISF over recruitment issues in

. A curfew was put in place in both Raqqa city and the rest of the governorate on 23 June, as the

and RISF besieged Thuwar al-Raqqa's headquarters and arrested between 90 and 200 of its members the next day. By 25 June, the

and RISF had captured all of Thuwar al-Raqqa fighters and their weapons in

, completely defeating the group, and the curfew was ended.

Gallery

Image:Members of the Raqqa Internal Security Forces 2.png, RISF recruits after the completion of their training Image:Members of the Raqqa Internal Security Forces 3.png, RISF policewomen Image:Idris Muhammad (RISF spokesman).png, Idris Muhammad, spokesman of the RISF Image:Risf.jpg, An RISF policeman providing security atop the Raqqa Civil Council building, 18 August 2018

References

{{Syrian Civil War Syrian Democratic Forces Law enforcement in Syria Organizations based in Syria