Kurds fear Islamic State resurgence in Syria

As the new Syrian effort takes shape, old threats resurface.

The leading Kurdish commander who helped defeat jihadist groups in Syria in 2019 says the chaos since Bashar Assad was overthrown is “paving the way” for a resurgence of the so-called Islamic State (IS).

“Daesh’s activities [IS] General Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) are an alliance of militia mainly composed of Kurds and are supported by the United States. “They now have more capabilities and more opportunities.”

He said that based on intelligence reports, Islamic State militants had seized some weapons and ammunition left behind by Syrian regime forces.

He warned there was a “real threat” that militants would try to break into SDF-run prisons in northeastern Syria, which hold about 10,000 militants. The SDF also detains some 50,000 of its family members in camps.

Our interview with the general took place late at night at a location we cannot disclose.

He welcomed the fall of Assad’s regime, which had detained him four times. But he looked tired and admitted he was frustrated at the prospect of fighting an old battle again.

“We fight them [IS] And paid for 12,000 lives,” he said of the SDF’s losses. “I think at some point we’re going to have to go back to where we were before.

He said the risk of an Islamic State resurgence was heightened because the SDF was under increasing attack from neighboring Turkey and rebel factions it backs, and some fighters must be diverted to the fight. He told us that the SDF had to cease counterterrorism operations against ISIS and that thousands of prison guards had returned home to defend their villages.

Ankara views the SDF as an extension of the PKK, which has banned Kurdish separatist insurgency for decades and is listed as a terrorist by the United States and the European Union. It has long wanted to establish a 30-kilometer “buffer zone” in the Kurdish region of northeastern Syria. It is pushing harder for it since Assad’s fall.

“The number one threat right now is Turkey because its airstrikes are killing our troops,” General Abdi said. “These attacks have to stop because they distract us from the security of our detention centers,” he said. Although we will always try our best.”

Inside Alsina Prison, the largest prison for ISIS detainees, we saw layers of security and felt the tension among staff.

The former educational institution in the city of Hassakeh holds about 5,000 men suspected of being Islamic State militants or supporters.

Each cell door was padlocked and secured with three bolts. The corridor is divided into several sections by heavy iron doors. The guards wore masks and carried batons. Access here is rare.

We were allowed a glimpse inside two cells but were unable to speak to the people inside. They were told that we were journalists and could choose to hide our faces. Very few people do this. Most people sat quietly on blankets and thin mattresses. Two men pace the floor.

Kurdish security sources said most of the prisoners at Al-Sina prison had joined the Islamic State until the last minute and staunchly embraced its ideology.

We were taken to meet a slender, soft-spoken 28-year-old detainee who asked not to be named. He said he was free to speak but would not say much on key issues.

He told us that when he was 19, he left his native Australia to visit his grandmother in Cyprus.

“From there, one thing led to another,” he said, “and I ended up in Aleppo.” He claimed he was working with NGOs in the city of Raqqa when the Islamic State took over.

I asked him if there was blood on his hands and if he was involved in the killing? “No, I didn’t,” he replied, his voice barely audible.

Does he support what ISIS is doing? “I don’t want to answer that question because it might affect my case,” he responded.

He hopes to return to Australia one day, although he’s not sure he’ll be welcome.

Behind the barbed wire fence about three hours’ drive from Camp Roy, there is also hope that freedom is coming. Somehow.

Surrounded by walls, fences and watchtowers, this desolate tent is home to nearly 3,000 women and children. They have never been tried or convicted, but they are family members of Islamic State fighters and supporters.

There were several English women in the camp. We meet the three of them briefly. All said their lawyers told them not to speak.

In a windswept corner we met a woman willing to talk – Saida Temirbulatova, 47, a former tax inspector from Dagestan. Her nine-year-old son Ali stood quietly beside her. She hopes Assad’s overthrow will bring freedom to both of them.

“New leader Ahmed Sala [the head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham] Gives a speech stating that he will give freedom to everyone. We also want freedom. We want to leave, most likely to Russia. This is the only country willing to accept us.

The camp manager told us that others believed ISIS would come to rescue them and defeat them. She asked that we not use her name because she fears for her safety.

“The camp has been quiet since Assad fell. Usually, when it’s so quiet, it means the women are organizing,” she said. “They were packed and ready to go. They said: ‘We will leave this camp soon and be refreshed. We will come back again with the status quo.'”

She said there was a visible change even in the children, who chanted slogans and cursed passers-by. “They said: ‘We’ll come back for you. It [IS] Coming soon.

During our time at camp, many children raised their right index fingers. The gesture is used by all Muslims during daily prayers but has also been widely used by Islamic State militants in propaganda images.

The women at Camp Roy weren’t the only ones packing.

Some Kurdish civilians in the city of Hasakah are doing the same thing — fearing a jihadist resurgence and another Turkish ground assault in northeastern Syria.

Jewan, a 24-year-old English teacher, reluctantly prepared to go.

“I have packed my bags and am preparing my ID and important documents,” he told me. “I don’t want to leave my home and my memories, but we all live in constant fear. The Turks are threatening us, the doors of ISIS are open to them. They can attack their prisons. They can do anything they want want to.

Jewan was displaced from the northwestern city of Aleppo when Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011.

“This situation requires urgent international intervention to protect civilians,” he said. I asked him if he thought it was coming. “No,” he replied softly. But he asked me to mention his request.

Additional reporting by Michael Steininger and Matthew Goddard