Daesh's shadow looms over Syria
The history of Daesh (the self-determined Islamic State) changed completely on October 25, 2019. On that day, Abu Bakr al Bagdadi, the leader of this terrorist organization, lost his life during a military operation carried out by a U.S. special forces command in a village in northwest Syria. The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has transformed the geostrategic scenario, relegating the conflicts that for a time were at the centre of the political and media debate to a secondary position. The fight against Daesh in Syria, Iraq and other places has not been an exception, causing the resurgence of this terrorist organization in certain territories such as Syria, where Daesh has launched this Sunday a new attack against the forces of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the countryside of Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that Daesh attacked the positions of the Syrian Army in the region of Badiya al-Mayadeen, causing serious clashes in an area already devastated by the conflict. According to this organization, at least eight soldiers of the regime have lost their lives in this attack, which has taken place in the area of Al-Mazare, one of the regions with the highest concentration of Iranian forces and militias loyal to the regime. However, the SOHR has stressed that "neither Daesh attacked the Iranian positions nor did the Iranians support the regime's militias in repelling the attack".
Daesh has taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to increase his presence in Syria and Iraq, and exceptionally in Libya. After this attack, the forces of this terrorist organization disappeared in the vast Syrian desert, according to the digital Al Masdar News. In view of Daesh's presence in this region, the Syrian Army, the Iraqi Army (together with Hashd Al-Shaabi) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have started a series of operations to put an end to this terrorist group.
Since March 24, 2019, the SOHR has documented the killing of at least 570 regime soldiers and militias loyal to the regime of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, including at least two Russians, and 127 Iranian-backed militias. All were killed in attacks, bombings and ambushes by Daesh, in the western Euphrates, in the deserts of Deir Ezzor, Homs and Al-Suwaidaa.
The London-based agency, with a network of informants on Syrian soil, has also recorded the deaths of at least four civilians working in gas fields and 11 shepherds. The SOHR has also reported the deaths of at least 212 Daesh members on the same dates in attacks or bombings. Following this attack, Daesh launched another attack on the regime-backed National Defence Force (NDF) positions in the Al-Bolil desert in rural Deir ez-Zor, killing three people.
In this scenario of instability marked by a triple crisis (political, social and economic), Syrian President Bachar al-Asad - who has the support of Russia and Iran - is advancing in his goal of recovering every inch of Syrian territory, including the governorship of Idlib, in the northwest of the country. In the last stronghold of the rebel forces, the jihadist group Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian Free Army (FSA) are holding their positions, backed by Turkish military forces. The hostilities in this region led Ankara and Moscow to sign a document specifying the terms of the cessation of hostilities. Under this agreement, the Russian and Turkish armed forces began joint patrols along the road connecting Aleppo to Damascus or the road linking Aleppo to Lataquia.
Meanwhile, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday its intention to repatriate ten children of French jihadists who were trapped in camps in the northwest of the country. The news agency EFE has stressed that the decision to transfer them to France is justified by "the situation of vulnerability of these children and within the framework of the authorizations given by the local authorities".
The coronavirus is a threat to international cooperation agreements, which are crucial for fighting the Daesh, both in Syria and in other regions such as the Sahel, the Lake Chad basin or Afghanistan. Vladimir Voronkov, Deputy Secretary General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, warned last February that this terrorist group intends to "re-emerge and regain global relevance, both virtual and real, aiming to restore its capacity and resume its highly complex international operations". Despite the loss of its last bastion in Syria in March last year and that of its leader in October, Daesh - an organisation characterised by its great capacity for resilience and adaptation to new contexts - has continued to intensify its presence in a country destroyed by the conflict.
