102nd month of Coalition operations in Syria | 110 trucks brought in to military bases…new attack on jihadists in Idlib…ongoing security operations with SDF against ISIS cells
Completing the 102nd consecutive month of military operations against the “Islamic State” in Syria, the International Coalition continues sending military reinforcement to SDF-held areas, carrying out raids, arrests and various security campaigns in several areas controlled by SDF. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in turn, tracked and monitored all operations and movement of the International Coalition during the last month.
In the 102nd month of International Coalition operations in Syria, 110 trucks and vehicles affiliated to the Coalition, carrying military and logistical supplies, crossed into Syria from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in four batches on the 2nd, 7th, 14th and 18th of March. The trucks headed to the Coalition’s military bases in Al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor in north-east Syria region.
In the past month, SOHR activists also documented the participation of the International Coalition in four joint security operations with SDF, namely raids and airdrops, arresting six members of ISIS cells.
Meanwhile, Coalition drones attacked a motorcycle, on February 24, on the road to Qah Mashhad Rouhin in Idlib countryside near the Syria-Turkey border, killing two jihadists. Reliable SOHR sources have confirmed that one of the targeted jihadists was an Iraqi ISIS Emir (top commander) known as “Abdulraouf Al-Muhajer,” aka “Abi Sara Al-Iraqi,” and the other man was his Iraqi escort. “Abi Sara Al-Iraqi” was the Emir of the general administrator of ISIS states and he was also a leader in “Hurras Al-Din.” He was also the latest de-facto leader of ISIS. SOHR was unable to verify the identity of the man who was escorting “Abi Sara Al-Iraqi.”
On the other hand, the International Coalition and international intelligence services operating in the 55 kilometre de-confliction zone have distributed fliers on February 25, asking residents to provide them with information about the whereabouts of Iranian drones and anti-aircraft weapons in the Syrian desert. It is worth noting that this movement is the first of its kind in this region.
The fliers read “we search for drones and missiles of all models. These weapons and equipment are brought to those who want to harm you. We search for this equipment, and you will be granted a reward, when you provide us of information enables us to confiscate these equipment. Please, communicate with us.”
SOHR sources reported that members working for the International Coalition have confirmed that the financial rewards, offered by the Coalition in return for providing information about locations of military weapons, are bountiful. A large number of fliers was distributed in Al-Rukban camp in the 55 kilometre de-confliction zone.
Moreover, in the 102nd month of Coalition operations in Syria, International Coalition Forces conducted six patrols as follows:
- February 24: International Coalition Forces have run a military patrol of four armoured vehicles in Al-Tayyanah town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. The patrol set off from the Coalition base in Al-Omar oil field in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor to Al-Tayyanah, before it returned to the base.
- February 27: The International Coalition conducted a scout patrol to monitor smuggling operations, comprising four US armoured vehicles “Bradley” in Deir Ezzor countryside, amid flight of helicopters over the region. The patrol set off from “Al-Omar” oil field in eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, and roamed Al-Jarzy and Al-Kashkiya towns before heading to Hajin city eastern of Deir Ezzor.
- March 5: A US patrol of six vehicles set off from the base in Al-Omar oil field and headed towards Al-Bareed river crossing in Al-Hawayij town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. The patrol toured the area to monitor the river crossings and detect smuggling operations across the river.
- March 6: US forces conducted a military scout “routine” patrol comprising several armoured vehicles, where the patrol set off from Koniko Gas Field passing by several villages in eastern Deir Ezzor countryside and headed towards an “International Coalition” base in Al-Omar Oil Field eastern of Deir Ezzor.
- March 13: International Coalition Forces ran a military patrol of five vehicles escorted by an SDF vehicle, where the patrol set off from Al-Omar oil field in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor and crossed Al-Bareed crossing on the bank of Euphrates river, heading to Al-Hawayij town, before returning to the starting point. The patrol comes a few hours after the attack by gunmen on guards of the Coalition’s largest base in Syria.
- March 17: US forces ran a routine patrol in Deir Ezzor countryside, where the patrol, which comprised five armoured vehicles escorted by an SDF military vehicle set off from Al-Omar base, the Coalition’s largest base in Syria, and headed to Al-Hawayij town and Al-Bareed crossing in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.
March 2023: Another month passes and no investigation into alleged Coalition massacres
Despite SOHR repeated and “unheeded” appeals, International Coalition and SDF have not announced the results of interrogations with ISIS detainees and what happened to the thousands of abductees. The Syrian Observatory had previously called upon the international community to investigate reports regarding the killing of 200 ISIS operatives and their families, women, and children, in a massacre committed by the Coalition’s jets by bombing Al-Baghouz camp on March 21, 2019.
According to SOHR sources, 200 bodies were buried at dawn on that particular day, without information on whether the International Coalition was aware of the presence of children and women from ISIS families inside the camp or not.
However, all these appeals remain unanswered. Therefore, SOHR renews its calls and appeals to all relevant parties to disclose and announce the whole facts and hold accountable those responsible for the massacres and violations over the past five years, during which the Coalition was actively involved in the Syrian crisis.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while providing adequate monitoring of Coalition operations in Syria, stresses once more that it would have been possible to avoid the heavy losses of Syrian civilian lives if the International Coalition had not ignored SOHR’s calls to spare and protect civilians from its military operations, where the presence of Islamic State militants or other jihadist groups in a civilian area does not in any way justify the blank and discriminate bombardment of the area and the loss of civilian lives.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also stresses that the negative impact of Turkish military intervention on civilians could have been avoided, if US Presidents had applied enough pressure on their Turkish counterparts to stop a new humanitarian crisis, displacing thousands and killing and injuring hundreds.
On the other hand, we at SOHR would like to remind the world that the oil and gas resources, controlled by the International Coalition, belong only to the Syrian people. Therefore, all the concerned parties are obliged under international laws and norms to preserve these resources and ensure that they will not be stolen or seized in any way; these resources do not belong to the “regime”, “Iran” or any other party; they belong only to the people of Syria, who have been suffering the brutalities of an ongoing war for over ten years. SOHR also warns of the repercussions of exploiting these sources, seizing them, or depriving the Syrians of their rights to resources.
