Over 750 persons with suspected links to Islamic State flee from displacement camp in north-east Syria

cde.news desk 13 October 2019, 15:00 · 1 min read

epa07917980 Turkish military armored vehicles move on the way to Northern Syria for a military operation in Kurdish areas, near Tal Abyad town, in Akcakale district in Sanliurfa, Turkey, 13 October 2019. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area. EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

At least 750 people with suspected links to Islamic State have reportedly fled a displacement camp in north-east Syria, local officials have said, raising fears that the Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces in the area could lead Isis to regain strength amid the chaos.

The news came at the same time the US ordered all 1,000 US troops to withdraw “as safely and quickly as possible” from the region after learning that the Turkish operation was likely to extend further than Ankara’s proposed 20m (32km) “safe zone” on the border between the two countries.

The bloody conflict between Turkey and formerly US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters “gets worse by the hour,” defence secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday in a pre-taped interview.

The 249 women and 700 children of the “caliphate” held in a secure annex at the Ain Issa camp began to panic and riot and scared away the guards after Turkish shelling struck close to the area on Sunday, said Abdulkader Mwahed, the joint president for humanitarian affairs in the Kurdish-held part of Syria, in a statement.

Via the Guardian

Topics Islamic State Syria Turkey USA