Database: Former ISIS members now part of Turkish-backed forces in Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad
Download the full report here.
It’s one year since Turkey launched its devastating ‘Peace Spring’ operation, green-lit by Donald Trump and primarily targeting the Kurds in North and East Syria. The invasion displaced an initial wave of 200,000 IDPs, including most of the Kurdish and all of the local Yezidi and Christian minorities, plus large numbers of Arabs.
Since then, Turkey has been installing Sunni Arab militias in this formerly diverse, tolerant and secular region, responsible for a wide range of war crimes and atrocities against the civilian population, according to the UN.
Now, a new Rojava Information Center report reveals the identities of over 40 former ISIS members being sheltered, funded and protected by Turkey in the occupied regions. The report reveals that many ISIS commanders, fighters and emirs are now on the Turkish payroll, using Turkish-issued ID cards and receiving commands from Turkish intelligence as part of the Turkish-controlled ‘Syrian National Army’.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) is generally recognized as providing the highest levels of religious and ethnic tolerance, human rights and respect for rule of law of any actor in Syria. Since their occupation, Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad have moved from a situation of relative peace, secularism and prosperity to one in which Turkish-controlled armed groups commit a wide range of war crimes against the civilian population, including raping women, torture, summary executions, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, forcibly confining women to the home, and in some instances the imposition of a strict interpretation of Sharia law.
Far from acting to combat terror, then, Turkey’s invasions and installation of the SNA in regions formerly controlled by SNA have provided safe havens for globally-wanted terrorists. US airstrikes regularly target top-level militants linked to al-Qaeda or ISIS,
moving freely in Turkish-controlled territory. In 2019, Rojava Information Center published a widely-covered report identifying over 40 former ISIS members now part of Turkish-backed forces in Afrin. They include former emirs, commanders and those responsible for coordinating jihadist fighters with their handlers in the Turkish military intelligence services (MIT).
The present report expands on this work. Applying a more stringent methodology, it identifies over 40 former ISIS members now safely sheltered as part of Turkish-controlled factions in Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad, many for the first time. Along with previous RIC reports addressing the dire humanitarian situation in the occupied areas, it constitutes further evidence that Turkey is acting as a state sponsor of terror. These regions now serve as a launching-pad for Turkey’s regional expansion, transferring fighters from these same militias to represent its interests from the Mediterranean through to the Caucuses.
As a U.S. State Department notice signed by Donald Trump recently noted, Turkey’s offensives in NES “pose an extraordinary threat to U.S. national & security foreign policy… endanger civilians, undermine the campaign to defeat ISIS… and undermine regional security and stability.” Both U.S. Presidental candidates should therefore publicly and concretely commit to preventing any further Turkish military actions against North and East Syria through diplomatic, economic and if necessary military means.
Download the full report here, and contact Rojava Information Center for further comment, analysis and information.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
[…] Omar identifies Turkish NGOs such as IHH, the government’s AFAD agency, and state religious institution Diyanet as carrying out construction projects with the backing of Turkish capital and assistance of local partner companies. These are often linked to the patchwork of Turkish proxy militias united under the banner of the ‘Syrian National Army’, accused of a wide swathe of war-crimes and recruiting former ISIS members by the UN, US Treasury Department, and other observers. […]
[…] concerning yet, research I conducted with the RIC shows there are scores of former Islamic State (ISIS) members, including top commanders, living and working under Turkish […]
[…] helped defeat IS, and some in northeast Syria accuse Turkey’s Syrian rebel allies of accepting former IS fighters into their ranks. IS’ longtime leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was staying just a few miles from the […]
[…] defeat IS, and some in northeastern Syria accuse Turkey’s Syrian rebel allies of acceptance former IS fighters in their ranks. The old leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remained only one a few kilometers from […]
[…] threatens their own interests. Erdogan’s regime is making authoritarian allies, protecting jihadists, and occupying the territory of foreign countries. Domestically, instability is […]
[…] και βίαιων «εξαφανίσεων», τη συμπόρευση του με τις φασιστικές πολιτοφυλακές, είτε μιλάμε για τον ιμπεριαλιστικό στρατιωτικό […]
[…] και βίαιων «εξαφανίσεων», τη συμπόρευση του με τις φασιστικές πολιτοφυλακές, είτε μιλάμε για τον ιμπεριαλιστικό στρατιωτικό […]
[…] to crush organised resistance and protests; its use of torture and enforced disappearances; its alignment with fascist militias and imperialist military expansionism involving invasions, occupations and the commission of war […]
[…] Molti di questi miliziani, che oggi indossano distintivi con la bandiera turca sulla divisa, sono ex membri dell’ISIS. Cambiano i padroni, ma non il desiderio liberticida di distruggere un modello di società […]
[…] of Turkish-backed rebel groups in northern Syria and repeated allegations that Turkey is using former Islamic State fighters there. Rayburn said the United States has discussed reports of extremist fighters with Turkey and […]
[…] Para leer o descargar el informe completo en inglés, click aquí […]
[…] Rojava Information Center – 9 octubre 2020 – Traducido por Rojava Azadi Madrid […]
[…] of former ISIS members in Turkish-controlled areas. However, the Rojava Information Center has documented the presence of dozens of former ISIS members in areas occupied during Operation Olive Branch in […]
[…] Bilgi Merkezi’nin bir raporu, 40’tan fazla eski IŞİD üyesinin “işgal altındaki bölgelerde Türkiye tarafından […]
[…] Information on Ismail al-Aydo from a Rojava Information Center report. […]
[…] informe del Centro de Información de Rojava revela que más de 40 exmiembros de Estado Islámico están […]
[…] report from the Rojava Information Centre reveals that over 40 former ISIS members are “being sheltered, […]
[…] Database: Former ISIS members now part of Turkish-backed forces in Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad […]
[…] report from the Rojava Information Centre reveals that over 40 former ISIS members are “being sheltered, […]
[…] report from the Rojava Information Centre reveals that over 40 former ISIS members are “being sheltered, […]
[…] out of Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria, for example, has identified several dozen Islamic State veterans now working with Turkish-backed forces. These militias […]
[…] per indicare i responsabili di crimini come quelli di questi giorni in Francia. Ci sono prove del riciclo di migliaia di miliziani dell’Isis nei territori siriani sotto controllo turco (soprattutto nella milizia Ahrar al-Sharqiya) ma non è […]
[…] https://rojavainformationcenter.com/2020/10/database-former-isis-members-now-part-of-turkish-backed-… […]
[…] send a diplomatic signal to Turkey that its regional aggression and use of Syrian mercenaries, some of whom are Islamic State veterans, will always […]
[…] recent report by the Rojava Information Center has identified 40 former Islamic State fighters and leaders now in […]
[…] Syria (International Christian Concern) – A new report published by the Rojava Information Center details the identities of at least 40 former ISIS […]
[…] Das kurdische Rojava Information Center hat eine solcher „Karrieren“ beispielhaft dokumentiert. HIER ist die Einleitung zu dem Tex, HIER gibt es die Broschüre als […]
[…] Syria (International Christian Concern) – A new report published by the Rojava Information Center details the identities of at least 40 former ISIS […]
[…] Syria (International Christian Concern) – A new report published by the Rojava Information Center details the identities of at least 40 former ISIS […]
Comments are closed.