BEIRUT: Several villages held by Daesh have been captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of militias backed by the United States that includes a strong Kurdish contingent, an organization that monitors the war said on Monday.
The advance is part of a military campaign backed by an international coalition led by the United States to drive Daesh from its Syrian capital of Raqqa. It follows SDF gains against the jihadist group across the north of the country.
The strongest group in the SDF is the People’s Protection Units or YPG, a Kurdish militia, but Washington has said that any operation to retake Raqqa should be predominantly Arab, the ethnicity of most of the city’s residents.
The latest advances in the countryside about 50 km (30 miles) west and northwest of Raqqa follow an earlier phase of SDF gains on another front about 30 km north of the city.
Three SDF soldiers were killed fighting Daesh after the capture of five villages, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said on Monday.
Daesh had been on the back foot in both Syria and Iraq, where it is under attack in Mosul, its biggest and most important possession, and after a string of US air strikes that have killed many of its leaders this year.
However, earlier this month it launched a surprise attack 160 km southwest of Raqqa to retake the ancient desert city of Palmyra, which it had lost in March to Syrian army forces backed by Russian air power after a nine-month occupation.
That attack demonstrated the risks still posed by the group across Syria even after its territorial losses there since mid-2015, including holdings along the Turkish border which were once its main route for supplies and recruits.
Complicating the efforts against Daesh is a second campaign being waged against it in northwest Syria by Turkey and Syrian rebel groups allied to Ankara. This has taken a large area from the jihadist group but is also aimed at stopping Kurdish expansion.
The Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are now attempting to capture the city of Al-Bab from Daesh, a move that will end Kurdish hopes of uniting their two separated areas of self rule in northern Syria.
Early on Monday, the Turkish military said one of its soldiers had been killed in a car bomb in Al-Bab on Sunday and that 11 militants were also killed in clashes that day.
Kurd-led forces press Daesh near Syria’s Raqqa
Kurd-led forces press Daesh near Syria’s Raqqa
International law at ‘breaking point’ amid ‘epidemic’ of conflicts: Survey
- Gaza war highlighted as one of the most concerning areas; atrocities in Sudan also noted
- ‘Well over’ 100,000 civilians have been killed in past 18 months amid ‘rampant impunity’
LONDON: A new survey of 23 conflicts worldwide has said more than 100,000 civilians have been killed in the past 18 months, with adherence to international humanitarian law reaching “a critical breaking point.”
The “War Watch” survey highlighted the war in Gaza as one of the most concerning areas in an “epidemic” of violence, while also noting concerning levels of atrocities in Sudan.
Taken under the auspices of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the survey covers July 2024 to the end of 2025.
Lead author Stuart Casey-Maslen said: “Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions — or inaction — will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether.”
In Gaza, local authorities say 18,592 children and 12,400 women have been killed since Israel invaded the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.
The report said Gaza’s overall population had declined by “about 254,000 people, a 10.6 percent decline compared with pre-conflict estimates,” making it one of the most deadly conflicts in the world. It noted that despite a ceasefire being agreed late last year, civilian casualties have continued.
In Sudan, after the fall of the city of El-Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces last October, widespread reports of survivors “being gang-raped by RSF fighters” — including in the presence of relatives — were recorded in numerous instances.
The survey said: “We do not know how many civilians have been killed in the conduct of hostilities during armed conflicts in 2024 and 2025, but we do know that the number is well over 100,000 in each of the two years.”
It added that “serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) were wrought … on a huge scale and with rampant impunity.”
The report said IHL and the laws of armed conflict, established after the Second World War to protect civilians, must be upheld by every state under the Geneva Conventions “in all circumstances.”
It added: “Addressing widespread impunity for serious violations of international law should be treated as a policy priority.”
The report suggested several policy ideas to reduce the number of people suffering, including arms export bans for countries “where there is a clear risk that the arms or ammunition to be delivered will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations” of IHL.
It also proposed limiting the use of drones and artificial intelligence targeting in civilian areas, as well as unguided gravity bombs or inaccurate long-range artillery.
In addition, it called for “systematic prosecution of war crimes,” saying more political and financial support need to be given to the International Criminal Court by members of the international community.
