Another year of “International Coalition” operations in Syria: killing of Al-Baghdadi and abandoning SDF are the most prominent events .. withdrawals and redeployment within the game of distributing power and influence .. no answers to date about fate of people kidnapped by ISIS and massacres by coalition
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
December 2019
Another year of the International Coalition participation against the “Islamic State” organization in Syria war, witnessed several changes and shifts over the map of influence and alliances within the Syrian crisis which enabled Russia to have the upper hand, as it has become the biggest winner of all the developments over the past 12 months.
Between the 23rd of December 2018 and the 23rd of December 2019, the map of the Syrian conflict in the area of north-east Syria has completely changed. After the coalition had been in control of nearly a third of the Syrian territory, on the basis of being SDF partner, it lost all of these areas and controls now only few swathes represented mainly on areas contain oil and gas wells in Deir Ezzor.
Over the past year, and with successive shifts in the map of conflict, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored all developments, to document and analyze what has been going on in north-east Syria, in the wake of violations by all conflicting parties against civilians in North Syria.
After International Coalition has completed 63 months of its operations in Syria, the map of alliances and areas of influence distribution got clearer, especially after the U.S. Trump’s decision following a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan on the 6th of October 2019.
President Trump decided to pull US forces out of Syria, only to backtrack later announcing that the US would maintain a few hundred US soldiers with the purpose of “protecting the oil” from falling into ISIS hands and denying the Syrian regime, Russia and Iran access to the oilfields installations.
Accordingly, the coalition control has been confined in the area of east of Euphrates and Deir Ezzor, only to areas of the oil sources. Thus, the International Coalition against ISIS voluntarily lost control of nearly a third of the Syrian territory with the U.S. president’s decision.
Withdrawals from bases .. establishment of new bases .. map of influence being changed every moment
On October 6, Trump announced full pull-out of U.S. forces from the military bases spread in north-east Syria, which was a green light for the Turkish military operation known as “Peace Spring”. An Operation that enabled Turkey to dominate an area of more than 4875 km2 of the Syrian territory, from Ras Al-Ain to Tal Abyad with 32km into Syria (9.2% of the total area used to be controlled by SDF before the Turkish operation).
Since the Russian – Turkish deal agreed upon after meeting between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Receb Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, SOHR has monitored the withdrawal of International Coalition from its military bases in several areas in north Syria. Coalition forces have withdrawn from “Kharab Ishq” base near Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) and Al-Qulayb base which contained a runway for military transport aircraft and helicopters in “Tal Baydar” area in Al-Hasakah countryside. They also withdrew from “Manbij”, “Ain Issa” and “Sarin”, before the Russian forces imposed control over a number of bases from which U.S. forces and coalition forces withdrew earlier. It is noteworthy that the U.S. forces have destroyed a number of bases they had withdrawn from, by targeting these bases with air strikes.
During the period preceded the rearrange of U.S. forces and Coalition forces presence in the Syrian North, the Coalition used to control 22 military base distributed in several areas. The large bases included airfields for aircraft landings and take-offs, while some other small bases have been established.
The International Coalition have established 22 bases in areas east of the Euphrates and Manbij in the north-eastern sector of Aleppo countryside including six large bases. These bases were distributed – as what SOHR monitored – in the areas of Ain Al-Arab (Kobani), Kharab Ishq, and Manbij in Aleppo province, Tal Arqam, the base in Koniko gas field, Al-Raqqah, and Al-Tabqah in Al-Raqqah province, Al-Shaddadi, Al-Hool, Tal Tamr, Tal Baydar, and Rumaylan in Al-Hasakah province, the base in Al-Omar oilfield, and Al-Bahrah in Deir Ezzor province, in addition to a former base in Ain Issa that have been evacuated previously.
SOHR have also monitored the entry of thousands of trucks carrying logistic and military equipment, gears and armored vehicles, since the start of International Coalition involvement in military operations in Syria.
On the other hand, SOHR have monitored operations by the Coalition through which it managed to transport tens of it agents of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, of those who used to operate within controlled areas of the “Islamic State” organization. They were rescued through airdrops by helicopters, then they were taken to headquarters of the Coalition east of the Euphrates.
Fighting ISIS leftovers .. International Coalition tries to affirm its commitment to fight terrorism in Syria
Although ISIS announced defeated on March 2019, the International Coalition continued its operations in Syria. SOHR monitored over the past period, the continuation of entry of weapons and logistic equipment and assistance, in addition to the establishment of a center by the “Coalition” in Al-Omar oilfield in Deir Ezzor countryside on the eastern bank of Euphrates River, for training the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) how to use drones.
As a part of attempts to affirm its commitment to continue operations against ISIS, the International Coalition in cooperation with SDF, launched several security campaigns and raids on ISIS cells. On November 9, SOHR learned that the Coalition aircraft targeted three tents in “Khabirah” area in the north-eastern desert of Deir Ezzor.
At the time when the Coalition is seeking to affirm its engagement in operations against the organization, the situation on ground indicates to the fact that the Coalition has abandoned Syria Democratic Forces, its most trustful ally over the past 5 years.
The International Coalition chose to cooperate with the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, until SDF, in cooperation with the International Coalition, controlled until September 30, about 28.8% of Syria with a total area of 53396 km2 of the north and east of Syria, including the Manbij and its countryside in the west of the Euphrates River, and the entire east of the Euphrates area except for several areas controlled by regime forces and their allies in the east of the Euphrates off the city of Deir Ezzor.
The situation has changed following the Turkish military intervention, as the SDF is left only with 29220 km2, 55.2% of the total area it occupied before October 9, with the regime taking control of 18821 km2 (35.6% of the total area of the SDF’s before the Turkish operation).
According to what SOHR monitored; since mid-December 2018, the map of alliances has taken on a new shape following the first announcement by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from Syria, before he partially reversed his decision and announced the change of the objectives of the international coalition in Syria from the elimination of the Islamic State to the elimination of and confrontation of Iranian influence.
On October 6, the telephone call between him and his Turkish counterpart reversed the table by withdrawing US troops from the border with Turkey, allowing Turkish forces and factions to intervene militarily in northern Syria through Operation “Peace Spring”
At the same time, SOHR have obtained reliable information confirms that a delegation of the International Coalition and the spokesperson of the Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve which is affiliated to the International Coalition and led by the United States, visited today morning the headquarters of Tal Abyad Military Council, the Autonomous Administration, the Civil Council and the command of the Internal Security Forces in Tal Abyad city north of Al-Hasakah, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; they discussed the second stage of the mechanism of coordination concerning the safe zone north-east of Syria.
Baghdadi’s death, the biggest achievement in 5 years after the abandonment of most reliable ally, SDF
Since the first moment of the formation of the US-led international coalition, Washington announced that its goal was to “completely eliminate the caliphate of the Islamic State,” which was achieved by ending the group’s control of most of Syrian territory and declaring the elimination of the “caliphate” in late March. Following the recent developments, the Turkish military operation “Peace Spring” and the decision of the US withdrawal; the coalition forces returned on a new mission to reaffirm their commitment to continue counter-terrorism and anti-Islamic State operations. On October 27, the Syrian Observatory monitored the eight aircrafts taking off the airbase “Sarin” in the countryside of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), to target the leader of the Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, where the eight aircrafts flew in a straight line between the Turkish-Syrian border, from Jarablus and “al-Ra’ei”, then Azaz and Afrin towards Idlib countryside to “Barisha” village. “There is information that the SDF counter-terrorism forces participated in the operation, as 3 of the eight helicopters were carrying SDF counter-terrorism forces and were mainly involved in raids and carrying out an operation, amid reservations about the secrecy of the SDF participation due to Turkish sensitivities towards them,” reliable sources told the SOHR. According to information obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the remains of Al-Baghdadi’s body after he blew himself up were transferred to “al-Asad” Iraqi military base. According to sources of the Syrian Observatory, the operation carried out by the international coalition also resulted in the killing of Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, the spokesman for the Islamic State, in addition to about 9 other people, including a number of other leaders of the organization, where the dead included 2 women and a child. According to reliable sources, “the targeted house was bought from a jihadi leader a few days ago and identified himself to the people of the area as being from Aleppo”.
On October 28, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored a new operation in which an aerial landing operation was carried out over “al-Hawi” area of Jarablus, west of the Euphrates River, where a family of suspected Iraqi and suspected ISIS operatives was captured from the area.
Coalition and SDF complete ignore towards people kidnapped by ISIS
The International Coalition and Syria Democratic Forces continues their complete silence on the issue and file of thousands of abductees by the “Islamic State” Organization, after nine months of the official announcement of the Coalition and SDF of ending the Organization as a dominant force east of Euphrates, where the Coalition and the Syria Democratic Forces are completely silent about the matter and provide no answers about the fate of kidnapped people, despite the increased fears about the lives and their fate, including the father Paulo Dall’Oglio, Bishop John Ibrahim, Paul Yaziji, Abdullah al-Khalil, a British journalist, Sky News journalist, and other journalists, as well as hundreds of abductees from Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) and Afrin, in addition to the people from Deir Ezzor.
2019, a new year passes without an actual transparent investigation on massacres that the Coalition is suspected to be involved in. over this year, SOHR continued its appeals to all international parties, the International Coalition against ISIS, and SDF to announce the results of investigations with ISIS detainees and to disclose the fate of thousands of abductees.
The Syrian Observatory had previously called upon the international community to investigate information about the killing of 200 ISIS operatives and their families, women and children, in a massacre committed by the coalition’s warplanes by bombing al-Baghouz camp on March 21, 2019. According to information obtained by the SOHR at the time, the 200 bodies were buried at dawn that day, without information as to whether the international coalition was aware of the presence of children and women from ISIS families inside the camp or not.
Despite all of these appeals, they have not received positive consideration by relevant parties. Therefore, SOHR renews its appeals to all relevant parties to announce the whole facts and hold accountable those responsible of massacres and violations over the period during which the Coalition involved in the Syrian crisis that exceeded five years.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which provides adequate monitoring of Coalition operations over the past year, between the 23rd of December 2018 and the 23rd of December 2019, stresses that it would have been possible to avoid the heavy loss of Syrian civilian life if the international coalition had not deafened the SOHR’s calls to neutralize civilians from its operations. We here reassure that the presence of an Islamic State militant or other jihadist groups in a civilian area does not in any way justify the bombing of the area and the loss of civilian life there.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also stresses that the scourge of Turkish military intervention on civilians could have been avoided, if the US President had put pressure over his Turkish counterpart to refrain from causing a new humanitarian crisis, displacing thousands and killing and injuring hundreds.
We in the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights affirm the fact that the oil and gas resources that have been still under control of the International Coalition, belong only to the Syrians. So, SOHR calls upon all relevant parties to preserve these resources and ensure that they will not be stolen or seized in any way, as they do not belong to the “regime”, “Iran” or any other party, they belong only to the Syrian people who suffered from scourge of war over nine years. SOHR also warns against repercussions of exploiting these sources or seizing them.