Leyla Mustafa died in hospital. The former co-chair of the Raqqa Civil Council died on Saturday at the age of 35 in a hospital in Damascus from complications of liver surgery, relatives of her family said. The news of the politician's death was met with sadness and dismay in the autonomous region of Northern and Eastern Syria. “Leyla Mustafa symbolized the free woman. She fought to build the system of the Autonomous Administration, led the reconstruction process after defeating the radical mentality of ISIS, and advocated for stability and coexistence,” wrote Mazlum Abdi, commander general of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on X.

Leyla Mustafa (also Leila Mustapha) was born on 12 September 1988 in Raqqa into a Kurdish family. She studied civil engineering and experienced with her own eyes the initial period of occupation of her hometown by the Islamic State, which made Raqqa the capital of its caliphate in 2014. She fled to Qamishlo with her family and increased her political commitment.

In 2017, the year Raqqa was liberated from ISIS rule, Mustafa was elected as co-chair of the city's Civil Council, which was formed in the same year. One of her first official acts was to rename the iconic Al-Naim Square, which served as a public execution site for ISIS, as “Freedom Square.” She was dedicated to the reconstruction of Raqqa, which was over 80 percent destroyed by ISIS. She also played a key role in establishing Rojava's social model, which is based on women's liberation, pluralism, direct democracy and self-government. She held the office as co-chair of the Civil Council, the equivalent of the mayor, until 2022.