Bulletin: North East Syria Updates – 24.03.2019
Key events:
– End of the so-called ISIS Caliphate.
– Italian Internationalist volunteer killed in Baghouz.
– Assassination of Bayram Namaz, MLKP leader in NES.
– Clashes Between an Yezidi Militia and the Iraqi Army.
End of ISIS:
SDF led their final assault on the night of the 22-23 march, conducted mostly by special forces (YAT) and YPG/YPJ forces and supported by coalition airstrikes. It appeared that the same night, more chances to surrender were given to the ISIS militants. The number of ISIS fighters and family members who have surrendered or been killed in this last operation have not yet been communicated. Read more
The Italian Lorenzo Orsetti, nom de guerre Tekoşer Piling, got killed during the lasts days of the Battle of Baghouz against ISIS. He was a member of Tekoshina Anarshist, an anarchist organization which collaborates with SDF. Read more
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary, announced that ISIS in Syria had been “100 percent eliminated” on the 22 of March while the clashes were still taking place. Read more
Official declarations for the end of the Caliphate
Mazlum Abdi, general commander of SDF called on “the central government in Damascus to prefer the process of dialogue and start practical steps to reach a political solution based on the recognition of elected self-administrations in the north-east of Syria”. Read more
E. Macron declared on Twitter: “The threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue”. Read more
Trump declared that “We will continue to work with our partners and allies to totally crush Radical Islamic Terrorists”. Read more
Other statements
The Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi military chiefs met. They announced the Syria-Iraq border would soon be reopened. The Syrian Defence Minister, General Ali Abdullah Ayoub, said “[SDF will be dealt with through the two methods used by the Syrian state: national reconciliation or the liberation of the areas that they control through force”. Read more
Other news There was a skirmish between the Iraqi Army and Yazidi self-defense force, YBŞ. At least 4 Iraqi soldiers and 2 members of YBŞ were killed. The clash erupted as three international volunteers were attempting to cross the border to join with YBŞ. Read more
Senior U.S. defense officials told to Fox News that the ISIS fighters captured in Syria are connected to the killing of four Americans. Read more
Bayram Namaz, leader of the MLKP in North-East Syria, was assassinated. His party declared that “the Turkish state and its collaborators” were behind the attack. MLKP is a Turkish-Kurdish Communist Party, illegal in Turkey but legal in North-East Syria. Read more
