Yesterday at 18:00, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) relaunched the operation paused on February 9 to rescue civilians held by ISIS gangs trapped in a small area in the Baghouz village in Deir ez-Zor’s Hajin town. Since February 9, thousands of people including surrendering ISIS members and their families have been removed through corridors the SDF opened.

Some ISIS members in Baghouz, most of them foreign-born, refused to surrender and stated that they will fight. Some 1.500 ISIS members remaining in Baghouz had accused civilians who wanted to leave the region of treason and punished them, but they have been silent on the most recent evacuations.

9.000 CIVILIANS REMOVED IN 20 DAYS

According to information provided by the SDF authorities, 9.000 people were evacuated from Baghouz between February 9 and March 1. Most of the evacuees are families of ISIS members, wounded ISIS members and ISIS members who decided not to fight. ISIS had accused its members who refused to fight before of deviating from the path of jihad, but is silent now in the face of many members surrendering.

1.500 FOREIGN BORN ISIS MEMBERS

According to the SDF command, most of the ISIS members remaining in Baghouz are from the Far East, Turkic Republics, European countries, Chechnya and Turkey. It is not immediately clear what tactic the estimated 1.500 ISIS members remaining in a few streets in Baghouz will utilize.

ISIS TRIED TO GAIN TIME

ISIS tried to slow down the evacuations that started on February 9, putting few people on vehicles sent to the area at a time, to gain more time. But the SDF, in utmost care to avoid harm to the people including children and to keep the operation pristine, managed to evacuate over 9.000 people in 20 days.

NO CIVILIANS LEFT IN BAGHOUZ

As there are no civilians left in the region, and the remaining ISIS members have refused to surrender, SDF fighters relaunched the operation on March 1 at 18:00. SDF Commander Ednan Efrin said, “9.000 people including civilians, surrendering ISIS members and their families have been evacuated from Baghouz. As of March 1, there are no civilians left in the city. As the remaining gang members refuse to surrender, our forces have relaunched the operation.”

CLASHES THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT

As the SDF fighters relaunched the operation against ISIS gangs following the evacuation of civilians, intense clashes broke out in the Baghouz region. The clashes continued through the night with heavy weapons as SDF fighters advanced from 3 sides.

GREAT DANGER FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN SYRIA

Meanwhile, the thousands of ISIS members and their families who were evacuated from Baghouz pose a great danger for Northern and Eastern Syria as pressing issues of how to put them on trial and how to see to their needs in the meantime continue, and their home countries continue to remain silent. Northern and Eastern Syria doesn’t currently have the infrastructure to house and rehabilitate thousands of gang members and their families, and considering the sleeper cells in the region, a new strategy is needed in the fight against ISIS.