Mazloum Abdi mourns death of influential AANES leader from Syria’s Raqqa
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) mourned on Saturday the death of the former co-chair of the Raqqa Civil Council affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), who passed away during surgery in Damascus.
Mazloum Abdi expressed his sadness for the passing of Layla Mustafa, first co-chair of Raqqa Civil Council, “who led the city’s reconstruction after ISIS defeat.”
Earlier on Saturday Mustafa, 36, who served as co-chair for five years, passed away while undergoing surgery to remove liver cysts in Damascus.
“The deceased was a symbol of a free and ambitious woman. She struggled to establish the AANES system and led the rehabilitation process after defeating ISIS’ radical mentality,” Abdi added.
Mustafa, a native of Raqqa, won the 2021 World Mayor Award presented by the “City Mayors” foundation to outstanding mayors around the world who have served their citizens with integrity, justice, and equality.
Mustafa was also the first woman in the city’s history to hold a senior administrative position, where she managed to achieve significant progress in recovering from the aftermath of war. She made great contributions to the revival of Raqqa after it was liberated from ISIS.
Abdi extended his condolences to Mustafa’s family and to the community that “lost a great leader and symbol of equality and humanity.”