This week in Northern Syria (X)
Discover more from This Week in Northern Syria
This week in Northern Syria (X)
A rundown of key events from Turkish/SNA & SDF-controlled territories
The SDF and Asayish’s ‘Operation Humanity and Security’ - the ongoing sweep of al-Hawl detainment camp aimed at disrupting Islamic State cells - has entered its third week. Over this time period local security forces have routinely uncovered weapons caches and hand-dug tunnel networks, arrested male and female IS members, as well as discovered and freed individuals being held captive by the group.
On the night of September 8th, clashes reportedly broke out between the SDF and Islamic State members attempt to escape the detention camp. According to the SDF Press Center, two members of the affiliated ‘Commando Forces’ were killed during the skirmish, which led to the death of one Islamic State member and the capture of six others.
The following day, U.S. General Michael Kurilla visited al-Hawl along with head of the SDF Mazloum ‘Abdi. Kurilla’s statement released after highlights the dire situation within the camp and the serious threat it poses with regards to a possible Islamic State resurgence. Highlighting the conditions the camp’s population reside under due to lack of AANES capacity and international assistance, he called al-Hawl “a flashpoint of human suffering,” and “a literal breeding ground for the next generation of ISIS.”
Some figures provided by Kurilla regarding the camp’s population:
al-Hawl houses “approximately 56,000 residents – more than 90 percent of them women and children”
there are “approximately 80 births in the camp each month”
“Approximately 70 percent of the population is under the age of 12”
“Approximately half of the residents of al-Hol are originally from Iraq”
Kurilla commended Iraq for its repatriation of nationals from the camp (“nearly 2,500 citizens”), though stressed that “there’s a need to accelerate this progress.” Outside of Iraq, repatriation efforts have primarily been carried out by Russia and several Central Asian countries, while most European states have refused, leaving the burden of its citizenry stuck in Syria on under equipped local authorities.
In a recent piece for Al-Monitor, Jared Szuba highlighted the other main issue facing the AANES with regards to al-Hawl:
Roughly a third of camp residents are believed to be from Syria, posing an even greater problem for the international repatriation effort. International law forbids returning prisoners to the custody of governments likely to violate their basic human rights.
From time to time, AANES officials reach deals with local authorities, tribal or otherwise, releasing Syrian camp detainees to their nearby places of origin, but this process has also been quite slow, obstructed by lack of resources, distrust, and the very real threat of unrepentant Islamic State members amongst the population.
Events
09/06/22: Further images of deforestation in Afrin subdistrict of Sharran were published by local media, this time on the road between the villages of Kafr Roum and Hilubiye/’Akla. To read more on the subject, check out part one of last week’s newsletter.
09/07/22: The SDF and International Coalition carried out joint live fire exercises in the Dêrik/al-Malikiyah countryside in the vicinity of the Teqil Beqil village. This is reportedly the first time such an exercise has occurred in the ‘Bec du Canard,’ the confluence of the Syrian-Turkish-Iraqi borders, likely a signal of deterrence aimed at Turkey on the part of the US.
09/07/22: Two members of the SNA’s Furqat al-Mu’tasim (affiliated with the Hay’at Tha’iroun alliance) were killed near Mare’, allegedly by SDF ATGM fire. Pro-SDF sources say the missile was fired by regime forces in the areas.
09/07/22: The Turkish Ministry of the Interior announced the arrest over a dozen Islamic State members and collaborators in Jarabulus, allegedly plotting to carry out attacks in Turkey. Images released show five detainees in front of a sign reading “General Security Forces in Jarabulus,” however the official statement details the operation as having been carried out by the “Gaziantep Provincial Jandarma Command and the Jandarma Syria Task Force.” This highlights how security in Turkish-controlled parts of northern Syria is largely handled by bodies affiliated with the Turkish Ministry of the Interior (the Jandarma and the Police Special Forces), organized into a local task force (with some unknown degree of cooperation from SIG-affiliated Civil Police) and segmented in different areas by corresponding border provinces (Hatay, Gaziantep, Urfa etc.).
(source) 09/08/22: A video was published to social media showing a portion of the Afrin rail line in the process of being cut for scrap. According to reports members of SNA faction Furqat al-Hamza were responsible. The line has long been out of operation but is the local portion of the famed Berlin-Baghdad railway, entering Syria from Turkey at the Afrini town of Maydan Ikbis before leaving the region at the town of Qatme, making it’s way south to Aleppo, before heading northeast to the run along the Syrian-Turkish border. Since Turkey’s 2018 invasion of the region multiple segments of the railroad have been looted for scrap. While far more historic than practical to the region’s inhabitants, these incidents are indicative of the parasitic nature many SNA factions have on local infrastructure and economy.
09/09/22: The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced a Turkish soldier died of injuries sustained in an August 23rd attack on a base in Afrin. On that day Syrian Civil Defense (‘White Helmets’) had reported rocket fire from SDF/regime areas hitting civilian homes in the front line town of Maryamin, the site of a Turkish base. Following the Turkish MoD statement, HRE claimed the attacked.
09/10/22: A member of the regime-affiliated NDF was killed in clashes occurring in al-Hasakah’s al-Nashwah neighborhood. While some reports mentioned the SDF as being involved most say the fighting occurred between the local NDF and the “Special Task Forces,” also affiliated with the regime. Subsequent reporting in pro-opposition media has linked the clashes to the Qaterji family, who run a trading/smuggling network between SDF and regime territories, claiming the NDF captured a headquarters belong to the Qaterji militia in al-Hasakah city.
09/11/22: Syria’s recent cholera outbreak reached AANES-controlled territory, with three individuals reportedly dying of the infection. Reporting from BBC has tied the outbreak to Euphrates contamination.
09/11/22: Pro-SDF Hawar News published a video showing a raid carried out by members of the SDF’s Tell Tamer Military Council against frontline SNA positions south of Ras al-’Ain/Serê Kaniyê. According to Hawar the video was shot on September 9th in the village of Laylan and resulted in the death of two SNA fighters. This appears to be corroborated by Hay’at Tha’iroun, which had reported two of its fighters killed on the “al-’Aliyah axis” that day.
09/11/22: The Islamic State fighters captured and executed six members of the SDF near the village of Ruwayshid, on al-Khurafi road between Deir ez-Zour and al-Hasakah. Unlike most claimed IS attacks in the area, this one was recorded with the footage later published by IS’s A’maq media. Judging by SDF reports on the fighters’ funerals it appears most were from al-Shaddadi in the southern al-Hasakah countryside. According to North Press Agency, IS has claimed 130 operations targeting the SDF this year, the majority of which have occurrred in Deir ez-Zour.
