OMAR OIL FIELD, Syria: Kurdish-led forces pounded the last scrap of land held by the Daesh group Monday, a scattering of tents and destroyed buildings in a remote eastern Syrian hamlet.
The extremists once ruled over millions in a swathe of Syria and Iraq, but they have since lost all that territory except for a riverside bastion near the Iraqi border.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces paused their months-old offensive against the shrinking holdout multiple times for thousands of dust-covered women, children and men to flee, including suspected extremists.
But after that human flow slowed to a trickle, the Kurdish-led force late Sunday told remaining Daesh fighters time was up for any surrenders and they were moving in.
By Monday morning, the SDF had seized several positions from holdout extremists, an official with the US-backed forces said.
“Daesh is fighting back with heavy weapons and attempted to carry out suicide bombing a couple of times,” he said.
The warplanes of a US-led coalition and mortar fire overnight pounded weapons caches, and tank fire targeted Daesh positions, he and a spokesman said.
It was unclear how many people remained inside the pocket in the village of Baghouz on the banks of the Euphrates River, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said late Sunday.
“We expect there to be from 1,000 to 1,500 terrorists inside Baghouz,” he said.
The SDF launched the renewed assault on Sunday after no civilians were observed to remain in the riverside encampment.
“During the advance, if our forces notice the presence of civilians our special units will do the necessary to bring them away from the clashes or even work to evacuate them from the battle” zone, he said.
“The operation will continue until Baghouz is liberated and until the end of the terrorist military presence in that area,” he added.
Since December, nearly 59,000 people have left the last IS redoubt, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around a tenth of them suspected extremist fighters.
The last Daesh fighters are hunkering down in an area that includes a dismal camp of pickup trucks and cloth-covered trenches by the reedy banks of the Euphrates.
On the frontline Saturday, AFP journalists saw figures wearing the long black clothes of women stroll inside, and bearded men zip down dirt tracks on motorbikes.
The SDF pushed into the Daesh encampment some 10 days ago, discovering spent ammunition, pots and pans lying between hastily-dug trenches and berms.
At the height of its brutal rule, Daesh controlled a stretch of land in Syria and Iraq the size of the United Kingdom.
The jihadists had their own courts, currency and school curriculum, and meted out bloody punishment to anyone who disobeyed their rule.
The total capture of the Baghouz camp by the SDF would be a symbolic blow to IS, and mark the end of the cross-border “caliphate” it proclaimed in 2014.
But beyond Baghouz, IS retains a presence in Syria’s vast Badia desert and sleeper cells in the northeast.
They have continued to claim deadly attacks in SDF-held territory in recent months, and the US military has warned of the need to maintain a “vigilant offensive.”
The United States is expected to keep 200 “peace-keeping” troops in Syria after the end of the offensive, despite President Donald Trump’s shock announcement in December that all 2,000 American soldiers would leave.
The exodus out of Baghouz in recent months has sparked a humanitarian crisis, leaving aid organizations struggling to cope.
Those fleeing Baghouz have emerged exhausted and hungry after a prolonged siege, with many children suffering from malnutrition.
After fleeing the pocket, SDF members screen the crowds to weed out suspected extremists and detain them.
Vetted civilians, including foreign women and children related to Daesh, are trucked to Kurdish-run camps for the displaced in the northeast of the country.
More than 100 people — mostly young children — have died on the way to the camp of Al-Hol or shortly after arriving, according to the International Rescue Committee aid group.
Syria’s Kurds hold hundreds of foreigners accused of fighting for Daesh as well as members of their families.
But their home countries have mostly been reluctant to take them back, with Britain stripping several women who have joined Daesh of their nationalities.
Morocco said it had repatriated eight of its nationals from Syria on Sunday, who will be investigated for “suspected involvement in acts linked to terrorism.”
Kurdish-led Syrian forces pound final Daesh redoubt
Kurdish-led Syrian forces pound final Daesh redoubt
- The SDF had seized several positions from holdout extremists, an official with the US-backed forces said
- It was unclear how many people remained inside the pocket in the village of Baghouz on the banks of the Euphrates River
Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths
Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an “execution.”
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command to establish what happened and “hold accountable people if we need to.”
Last month, the bodies of 15 workers from the Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense and United Nations were found buried in a shallow grave at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, close to their wrecked vehicles.
Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers but the military has described an incident on March 23, when it said its troops fired on vehicles bearing Red Crescent markings near Rafah, killing nine members of militant groups.
“Our initial investigation found that there were terrorists in these cars, using those Red Crescent cars,” Shoshani told a briefing with journalists.
Asked how the troops knew that there were militants in the cars, he said: “It is based on different ways of intelligence and also based on the information gathered on the ground at the time of the event.”
He said troops later also fired on other unmarked vehicles that approached without emergency lights or prior coordination.
“I can’t go into the reasoning and what they did because this is under investigation,” Shoshani said. “We will investigate this incident and once we have the answers, we’ll put them out clearly and communicate everything we know and everything we’ve found,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, which said eight of its staff had been killed in the incident, said Israel had targeted the group and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
The medical team had been sent into Rafah as Israeli forces were advancing into the area after resuming operations in Gaza on March 18, following a two month-long truce, UN officials have said.
When the bodies were found, they were still in their medical uniforms and wearing gloves.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the people had been killed by Israeli forces and demanded “answers and justice.”
Shoshani denied reports that some bodies in the grave had been found with hands tied, and rejected the term “execution” to describe what happened during what he called “an operational event.”
“Not an execution,” he said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security
- King praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership
- Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire in Gaza
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Sofia on Thursday, where the two leaders discussed strengthening relations and addressing key challenges in the Middle East region.
During the expanded meeting at the Presidential Palace, King Abdullah emphasized Bulgaria’s important role in hosting the latest round of the Aqaba Process meetings in partnership with Jordan.
He noted that the discussions were particularly relevant given the current global security landscape, Jordan News Agency reported.
The king praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership, highlighting the alignment of views between the two nations on shared geopolitical challenges.
He also underscored the importance of fostering deeper cooperation and understanding between Jordan and Bulgaria.
Radev also stressed the significance of the Aqaba Process meetings in tackling critical security issues such as counterterrorism and radicalization, which are pressing concerns in both the Balkan region and the Middle East.
Reflecting on more than six decades of Jordan-Bulgaria relations, Radev praised the strategic partnership built between the two countries and also acknowledged Jordan’s leading role in advancing peace and stability in the Middle East, emphasizing the shared responsibility of both nations in promoting regional security.
The Bulgarian president lauded Jordan’s efforts to push for an end to the conflict in Gaza, while also continuing humanitarian aid delivery, and advocating for a political resolution.
He reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution.
Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid, and de-escalate tensions in the West Bank.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Jordan’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Mutaz Khasawneh, also attended the meeting.
Upon his arrival in Sofia, King Abdullah was welcomed with an official ceremony at Alexander Nevsky Square, where he laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.
Appeal in Algeria against jail term for writer Sansal
- Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists
- Sansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity
ALGIERS: The prosecutor’s office in Dar El Beida near Algiers has appealed against a five-year jail sentence imposed on French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the Algiers bar association told local media.
Sansal, whose case has been at the heart of a diplomatic storm with France, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
“Boualem Sansal and the prosecutor’s office appealed the day before Eid Al-Fitr,” marking the end of the month of Ramadan, which was celebrated Monday in Algeria, said Mohamed Baghdadi, an article on the TSA website said.
The writer’s French lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP on Wednesday that Sansal had appealed, but that this did not prevent him from being pardoned if the appeal was withdrawn.
Sansal was arrested in November and stood trial for undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity, after saying in an interview with a far-right French media outlet that France unfairly ceded Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.
The statement echoed a long-standing Moroccan claim, and was viewed by Algeria as an affront to its national sovereignty.
On March 27, a court in Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730).
According to his French publisher, Sansal is 80 years old.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” toward Sansal.
Baghdadi was quoted by TSA as saying that a pardon is “only possible once the final sentence” is pronounced.
“The case can be judged quickly” and a pardon granted afterwards, Baghdadi added, emphasising that Tebboune is “sovereign in his decisions.”
The date for the appeal has not yet been set, according to TSA.
Sansal’s conviction and sentence further frayed ties between Paris and Algiers, already strained by migration issues and Macron’s recognition last year of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is claimed by the Algeria-backed pro-independence Polisario Front.
Israeli action in Gaza leaves more than 39,000 Palestinian children orphaned
- 17,000 children have lost both parents
- Child labor, exploitation fears due to lack of adequate education, social support
LONDON: The Israeli onslaught in the Gaza Strip has orphaned thousands of Palestinian children — many of them losing both parents — which has left them with no means of support and no access to education.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that at least 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip have become orphans during the 534 days of Israeli attacks since October 2023, with 17,000 children losing both parents.
The PCBS reported that these children face a harsh reality, struggling to survive without support. Many are forced to live in tattered tents or destroyed homes, with little access to social services or psychological support.
Palestinian children, including orphans, endure profound mental disturbances daily, such as depression, isolation and fear, due to a lack of safety and proper guidance, the PCBS said. It warned that they are vulnerable to child labor and exploitation in a harsh environment due to the lack of adequate education and social support.
The education system in the Gaza Strip has been devastated by the conflict, which has destroyed 111 schools with another 241 severely damaged.
Additionally, 89 schools operated by UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) have been bombed or damaged, preventing 700,000 students from accessing education for the current academic year, the PCBS added. Some UNRWA schools have been turned into humanitarian shelters for entire communities in Gaza.
Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza in March and launched a new ground offensive, ending a ceasefire lasting nearly two months. At least 1,066 people have died in Gaza since Israel resumed its military operations, according to the local health ministry.
UN envoy slams Israel’s ‘repeated and intensifying’ attacks in Syria
- “Such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time,” said Pederson
- He called on Israel “to cease these attacks which could amount to serious violations of international law”
GENEVA: The United Nations envoy for Syria on Thursday condemned Israel’s intensifying attacks in the country, warning they were destabilising the Syrian Arab Republic at a sensitive time.
Geir Pedersen decried in a statement “the repeated and intensifying military escalations by Israel in Syria, including airstrikes that have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.”
“Such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time.”
His comment came after Syria accused Israel on Thursday of mounting a deadly destabilization campaign after a wave of strikes on military targets, including an airport, and a ground incursion killed 13 people.
Israel said it responded to fire from gunmen during an operation in southern Syria and warned interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa that he would face severe consequences if its security was threatened.
Israel has carried out an extensive bombing campaign against Syrian military assets since Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar Assad late last year.
It has also carried out ground incursions into southern Syria in a bid to keep the forces of the new government back from the border.
Pedersen called on Israel “to cease these attacks which could amount to serious violations of international law and respect Syria’s sovereignty and existing agreements, and also to cease unilateral actions on the ground.”
He urged “all parties to prioritize diplomatic solutions and dialogue to address security concerns and prevent further escalation.”
