![Rojda Felat, commander of a U.S.-backed operation by Kurdish and Arab fighters to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa, uses her walkie talkie near the Taqba Dam, west of Raqqa, Syria March 30, 2017. Picture taken March 30, 2017. To match Interview MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-RAQQA REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX33I1G](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/05/RTX33I1G.jpg/RTX33I1G.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=-bmITnb7)
Massoud Hamid holds a master's degree in journalism and is a doctoral student at Paris-Sorbonne University. He won the 2005 cyberfreedom prize from Reporters Without Borders and is director of the Nudem Media Association in Syria.
![Rojda Felat, commander of a U.S.-backed operation by Kurdish and Arab fighters to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa, uses her walkie talkie near the Taqba Dam, west of Raqqa, Syria March 30, 2017. Picture taken March 30, 2017. To match Interview MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-RAQQA REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX33I1G](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/05/RTX33I1G.jpg/RTX33I1G.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=-bmITnb7)
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Massoud Hamid
![CxeW_vfXAAApEIq.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/12/CxeW_vfXAAApEIq.jpg/CxeW_vfXAAApEIq.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=hNfZnzpW)
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Massoud Hamid
![A Turkish Kurd plays the citar as smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province October 26, 2014. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR4BMFX](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/07/RTR4BMFX.jpg/RTR4BMFX.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=PJ2pvy8w)
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Massoud Hamid
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Massoud Hamid
![RTX15AJL.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/04/RTX15AJL.jpg/RTX15AJL.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=VSvb7yji)
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Massoud Hamid
![Members of the interim government of democratic self-administered party stand after declaring a provincial government, in the city of Amuda near Hasaka January 21, 2014. Kurds in Syria declared a provincial government in the north of the country on Tuesday, consolidating their geographic and political presence on the eve of peace talks in Switzerland at which they will not be represented. The municipal council will run affairs in one of three administrative districts set up by Kurds, who have seized upon t](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/02/RTX17PUK.jpg/RTX17PUK.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=BoHQmQO2)
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Massoud Hamid
![Fighters from the Democratic Forces of Syria drive in a convoy as they enter the Syrian town of al Houl in Hasaka province, after they took control of it from Islamic State militants, November 14, 2015. A U.S.-backed Syrian rebel alliance on Friday captured the town of al Houl in Hasaka province, which had been held by Islamic State militants, a spokesman for the Kurdish fighters, part of the grouping, said. It was the first significant advance against IS by the Democratic Forces of Syria, which was formed](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2016/01/RTS72PA.jpg/RTS72PA.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=cWd9meGF)
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Massoud Hamid
![RTR3A3TP.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/11/RTR3A3TP.jpg/RTR3A3TP.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=ELxxOKI2)
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Massoud Hamid
![Demonstrators hold Kurdish and Syrian opposition flags during a protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Hasakah July 6, 2012. Picture taken July 6, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR34QNS](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/09/RTR34QNS.jpg/RTR34QNS.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=8mgZQ6sl)
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Massoud Hamid
![A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) patrols on a motorcycle in the streets of the northern Syrian town of Kobani January 30, 2015. Sheets meant to hide residents from snipers' sights still hang over streets in the Syrian border town of Kobani, and its shattered buildings and cratered roads suggest those who fled are unlikely to return soon. Kurdish forces said this week they had taken full control of Kobani, a mainly Kurdish town near the Turkish border, after months of bombardment by I](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/07/RTR4NL9J.jpg/RTR4NL9J.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=0DdURR2H)
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Massoud Hamid
![A man walks past abandoned buildings in the northern Syrian town of Kobani January 30, 2015. Sheets meant to hide residents from snipers' sights still hang over streets in the Syrian border town of Kobani, and its shattered buildings and cratered roads suggest those who fled are unlikely to return soon. Kurdish forces said this week they had taken full control of Kobani, a mainly Kurdish town near the Turkish border, after months of bombardment by Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that has spread across S](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2015/06/RTR4NMUW.jpg/RTR4NMUW.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=cSthdKZQ)
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Massoud Hamid