BEIRUT: US-backed Kurdish-led fighters in northeastern Syria launched an operation Wednesday against suspected Daesh militants in the area in retaliation for an attack by the extremist group there last month, according to a statement.
Syrian Democratic Forces said they raided “dozens of potential points and hideouts” in the city Raqqa — formerly held by the Daesh group — and the surrounding area, and arrested dozens of suspected Daesh members. The US-led coalition forces provided air cover and drone surveillance during the operation, the statement added.
The operation was in response to an Daesh attack on Raqqa in late December that killed six members of the Kurdish-led forces. The SDF also announced formation of a “joint operations room” backed by the international coalition aimed at targeting IS cells.
The Kurdish-led forces in Syria regularly carry out joint anti-Daesh patrols with the US-led coalition . The patrols were temporarily halted late last year when Turkiye launched a campaign of airstrikes against Kurdish groups in Syria in retaliation for a deadly November explosion in Istanbul. Ankara blamed Kurdish groups for the attack, an allegation the groups deny.
The SDF said that according to its intelligence, Daesh “is attempting to reorganize the terrorist cells and appointing new leaders” as well as “issuing instructions to move from individual to group terrorist attacks on the prisons” holding Daesh members.
More than 42,400 foreign fighters and some 23,200 Syrians accused of Daesh ties — and their families — are held in camps and prisons in northeastern Syria, according to a Human Rights Watch report last month. The report detailed dire conditions in the detention facilities and called for repatriation of the detained foreign nationals — most of them women and children — by their countries.
Western countries have repatriated an increasing number of their citizens from northeastern Syria, including most recently France, which returned a group of 32 minors and 15 women on Tuesday.
Kurdish forces seize dozens of suspected Daesh members in Syria
https://arab.news/8qdnn
Kurdish forces seize dozens of suspected Daesh members in Syria
- Syrian Democratic Forces said they raided “dozens of potential points and hideouts” in the city Raqqa
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
