{"id":128212,"date":"2025-08-12T13:43:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=128212"},"modified":"2025-08-12T13:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:43:13","slug":"euphrates-ferries-lifeline-between-two-sides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/","title":{"rendered":"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) <\/strong>\u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic lifeline to a dividing line between two opposing zones of control \u2014 the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the north bank and the Syrian government on the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Geographic Divide and Human Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With bridges destroyed or rendered inoperable by years of conflict, small wooden ferries known locally as \u201cabbarat\u201d have become the only means for farmers, patients, and students to cross. The crossings, however, are costly, risky, and subject to abrupt closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abu Ahmed, 40, from eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, told North Press his livelihood depends on reaching farmland on the government-controlled bank. \u201cEvery morning I pay about a quarter of my daily income to cross at al-Salhiyah if it\u2019s open. If closed, I\u2019m forced to cross secretly at night. Once, a government patrol arrested me and I spent a week in jail, accused of cooperating with the SDF simply for coming from the other side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added, \u201cWe are one community. We have nothing to do with political or military disputes. We only want to live in peace and see the bridges rebuilt so we can cross safely at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Um Nour al-Din, 55, sat waiting near the riverbank for an informal crossing to reach a hospital on the southern bank for her child\u2019s medicine. \u201cI wake before dawn and pray the ferries are running. More than half my salary goes to an unsafe crossing, while both sides accuse the boat owner of spying. Water can drown us and fear can kill us, but I must get my son\u2019s medicine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lifeline and official silence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local activist Ibrahim al-Saleh described the ferries as \u201ca lifeline and a measure of stability\u201d in the absence of bridges. He told North Press that repeated closures of official crossings \u201cdeny patients treatment, deprive children of education, and separate families,\u201d calling on authorities to make the river crossings safe, consistent, and free from political bargaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Who is responsible?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Syrian government official, speaking anonymously, said closures sometimes stem from Damascus due to security threats, and at other times from the SDF to prevent weapons smuggling. He acknowledged poor coordination between the sides, saying, \u201cWe try to allow urgent humanitarian cases, but trust is absent, and every permit becomes a political tool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Residents across the river continue to call for permanent crossings and the restoration of bridges to end daily hardship and reduce the exploitation of those dependent on the ferries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Mu\u2018az al-Hamad<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic lifeline to a dividing line between two opposing zones of control \u2014 the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the north bank and the Syrian government on the south. Geographic Divide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":128213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-reports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North press agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T13:43:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T13:43:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"430\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"semav1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"semav1\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"semav1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0\"},\"headline\":\"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-12T13:43:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-12T13:43:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":438,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"HOME\",\"REPORTS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/\",\"name\":\"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-12T13:43:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-12T13:43:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":430,\"caption\":\"Residents waiting for a ferry across the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor countryside.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/128212\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"description\":\"North press agency\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"width\":682,\"height\":388,\"caption\":\"North press agency\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NPA.SYR\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/NPA_English\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/northpressagency\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0\",\"name\":\"semav1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"semav1\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/semav1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides","description":"DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides","og_description":"DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic","og_url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/","og_site_name":"North press agency","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","article_published_time":"2025-08-12T13:43:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-12T13:43:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":430,"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"semav1","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NPA_English","twitter_site":"@NPA_English","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"semav1","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/"},"author":{"name":"semav1","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0"},"headline":"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides","datePublished":"2025-08-12T13:43:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-12T13:43:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/"},"wordCount":438,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg","articleSection":["HOME","REPORTS"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/","name":"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-08-12T13:43:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-12T13:43:13+00:00","description":"DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013 For thousands of residents in Syria\u2019s eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate, the Euphrates River has shifted from a historic","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Residents-of-Deir-ez-Zor-countryside-750x430-1.jpeg","width":750,"height":430,"caption":"Residents waiting for a ferry across the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor countryside."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/128212\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Euphrates ferries: Lifeline between two sides"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","name":"North press agency","description":"North press agency","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization","name":"North press agency","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","width":682,"height":388,"caption":"North press agency"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NPA_English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northpressagency\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1cc380944b76ba86440ef8ad099f16a0","name":"semav1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32221f0f6234b81e7d16b824fc92b9c1a8794a5fa04024fb4ddedd3a61599?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"semav1"},"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/author\/semav1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128214,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128212\/revisions\/128214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}