TOPSHOT-SYRIA-CONFLICT-KURDS

TOPSHOT - Anti-regime fighters stand on the roadside as displaced Syrian Kurds drive vehicles loaded with belongings on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway to flee areas on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo which were formerly controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after they were seized by Islamist-led rebels on December 2, 2024. On November 27, the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance led a major offensive snatching Syria's second city Aleppo and dozens of towns and villages from government control, after years of regime gains in successive Russian-backed military campaigns. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)