시리아 반군, IS 최후 거점 탈환 임박 ISIS now controls just 700 square meters in Syria, says SDF
ISIS now controls just 700 square meters in Syria, says SDF
By Ben Wedeman, Kareem Khadder and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
Updated 1307 GMT (2107 HKT) February 16, 2019
Eastern Syria (CNN)ISIS now controls an area of Syria measuring just 700 square meters, a commander with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said Saturday.
SDF members stand together near Baghouz, Deir Az Zor province, last week [File]Al Jazeera
시리아 반군, IS 최후 거점 탈환 임박 시리아 국제동맹군, 마지막 남은 IS 점령지 장악 시리아에서 이슬람 무장조직 IS와 싸우는 시리아민주군(SDF) 측은 IS 최후 거점에서 승리가 임박했다고 16일 밝혔습니다. SDF 사령관은 이날 기자들에게 미군이 지원하는 SDF가 시리아 동부 바구즈에서 IS 잔당들을 몰아붙이고 있다고 설명했습니다. 이런 가운데 시리아 현지 상황을 전하는 민간 조직인 시리아인권관측소는 SDF가 시리아 동부에 있는 IS 최후 거점을 점령했다고 16일 밝혔습니다. 하지만, 로이터통신은 아직 이를 확인할 수 없다고 전했습니다. 미국이 지원하고 쿠르드 반군이 주도하는 SDF는 이라크 접경 샤라자와 바구즈에 대한 공세를 벌여왔습니다. 영국 BBC 방송은 IS 반군들이 후퇴하거나 주민들 속으로 숨었다고 보도했습니다. 반군 일부는 피난민들 사이에 끼여 탈출을 시도하는 것으로 알려졌습니다. 시리아인권관측소는 지난 이틀간 반군 수백 명이 투항했다고 전했습니다. 남아있는 반군들은 대부분 외국인들입니다. 시리아인권관측소는 또 반군 가운데 일부가 지하굴에 숨어있는 것으로 보인다고 설명했습니다. SDF 측은 지하굴이 많아 소탕전이 길어지고 있다고 전한 바 있습니다. IS 반군과 싸우는 국제연합군 측은 탈출하는 가족 가운데 일부가 총에 맞았다고 전했습니다. 반군 가족들은 모두 SDF가 운영하는 수용소로 들어갔습니다. VOA 뉴스 |
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The SDF launched an offensive last weekend to oust ISIS from its last enclave in Syria, in the small town of Baghouz Al-Fawqani in the country's east.
Its fighters have the terror group's final foothold surrounded but have slowed their advance to avoid harming thousands of civilians who are being held by ISIS as human shields, Commander Chia Kobani, head of operations for the SDF, told a press briefing.
The SDF is also acting with care in order to liberate prisoners held by ISIS, he said, adding that they had been able to free 10 captives in recent days.
FILE PHOTO - Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dance along a street in Raqqa, Syria October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo/NRT English
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"Some may be surprised that Baghouz has not yet fallen. But the firing has stopped. The area is within range of our fire. But we are moving cautiously because there are thousands of civilians being held as human shields," Kobani said.
The area now remaining under ISIS control is down from 1,000 square meters on Friday, according to the SDF. At its height, ISIS controlled an area the size of Great Britain and ruled over 10 million people.
Kobani said the SDF's efforts would not end with the removal of ISIS' military presence on the ground.
"We will move to the next stage to the stage of combating ISIS and its sleeper cells and its remnants in the area in order to secure the safety of this region and the lives of people," he said.
Women and children stand in a field after fleeing from the Baghouz area in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor on February 12.
Kobani did not give a breakdown of how many fighters and civilians were believed still to be in the town.
Before the final offensive started, SDF officials estimated that 1,500 civilians and 500 ISIS fighters remained but as the assault got under way it became clear that the actual number was much higher. The militants include some of the most battle-hardened, ruthless and experienced personnel remaining in ISIS.
Some of those being used as human shields are the wives and children of those ISIS fighters.
Meanwhile, the United States continues to face criticism for its plan to pull US troops out of Syria, a move that shocked allies when it was announced in December by President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the US decision risked boosting Russia and Iran's role in the region.
"Is it a good idea to immediately withdraw troops from Syria now, American troops that is? Or will it not strengthen Iran's hand and Russia's hand to influence the situation on the ground? That too is something we need to discuss," she said.
Shortly afterward, US Vice President Mike Pence told the conference -- an annual gathering of heads of state, defense ministers and security experts -- that the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria was "a change in tactics not a change in mission."
ISIS losing its human shields in final fight in eastern Syria/Dailymotion
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"The United States will keep a strong presence in the region. We recognize it will not be enough to simply reclaim the territory of the caliphate," he said.
"As we enter this new phase, the United States will continue to work with all of our allies to hunt down the remnants of ISIS wherever and whenever they rear their ugly head."
The US commander who has been leading the war against ISIS told CNN on Friday that he disagreed with Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria and warned that the terror group was far from defeated.
Joseph Votel, the top American general in the Middle East, also said that the US-backed forces on the ground in Syria were not ready to handle the threat of ISIS on their own.
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https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/16/middleeast/syria-isis-caliphate-sdf-intl/index.html
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