Today’s news round on Syria** covers a range of significant developments, from the U.S. military’s capture of an ISIS leader involved in orchestrating escapes from Syrian detention facilities, to Syria’s condemnation of Western efforts to seize Russian assets, highlighting the geopolitical tensions at play. In northeastern Syria, a senior Kurdish commander was killed in a blast amid ongoing Turkish drone activity, underscoring the region’s instability. Additionally, the release of dozens of Daesh-linked detainees by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration raises concerns about security and reconciliation efforts. Finally, the arrest and subsequent release of journalist Bakr al-Kassem by Turkey-backed authorities, along with the Syrian Network for Human Rights’ report on the alarming rate of arbitrary arrests in August, further illustrate the complexities and human rights challenges in Syria today.
U.S. captures ISIS leader in Syria who helped fighters escape, CENTCOM says
U.S. troops and allies captured an ISIS leader who helped members of the militant group’s fighters escape from a detention center in Syria, the United States Central Command announced Monday.
American troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led coalition, captured ISIS facilitator Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal on Sunday — days after “five ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighter detainees (Two Russians, two Afghans, and one Libyan) escaped from the Raqqah Detention Facility,” per a CENTCOM statement.
The SDF recaptured two of the escapees, but CENTCOM said three remained at large.
Gen. Michael “Eric” Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement that 9,000 ISIS detainees remained in more than 20 SDF detention facilities in Syria.
He described this as “a literal and figurative ‘ISIS Army’ in detention,” adding: “If a large number of these ISIS fighters escaped, it would pose an extreme danger to the region and beyond.”
Syria Blast Kills Senior Commander In Kurdish Security Forces: Monitor
AFP reported that a senior commander from the security forces in northeast Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-led administration was killed on Tuesday in a blast near a prison in Hasakeh province.
“A commander in the Kurdish security forces was killed and another person was wounded” in an explosion near the prison in Umm Farsan on the outskirts of the city of Qamishli “at the same time as a Turkish drone was flying in the area”, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The commander in the Asayish security forces had played “a prominent role in leading military operations against the Islamic State group in Raqa province”, a former bastion of the jihadists in Syria, said the Britain-based Observatory.
A local Kurdish news agency reported “the sound of an explosion… resulting from the targeting of a car” in the area.
The incident came a day after Syria’s Kurdish authorities in Hasakeh province released 50 Syrian prisoners accused of belonging to the IS as part of a general amnesty deal, an official had told AFP.
Turkey welcomes Russian efforts for Syria normalization’
Ankara welcomes Moscow’s efforts to normalize ties between Turkey and Syria after years of tensions, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said.
Most recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We made a great effort in foreign and defense ministries to hold meetings last year to discuss conditions that could lead to the normalization of relations between Syria and Turkey.”
“We now believe it would be reasonable to prepare another meeting. I am sure that it will take place in the foreseeable future,” Lavrov told RT.
“We want to see a Syria, where its people have returned, which is in peace with its population and which has achieved a real national compromise with steps taken within the scope of legitimate demands and expectations mentioned in the UNSC,” Keçeli told Daily Sabah.
“We aim for this not only for Turkey but for a Syria that exports stability instead of instability for its region, that develops its economy on a mutually beneficial basis and that enhances the prosperity of its people,” the spokesperson added.
Journalist Bakr al-Kassem released one week after his arrest by Turkey-backed authorities
Syrian freelance journalist Bakr al-Kassem was freed on 2 September, one week after he was arrested by Turkey-backed local authorities in the city of al-Bab in northern Syria when returning from a work assignment.
The journalist, who works for several media outlets including Agence France Presse (AFP) and Turkish news agency Anadolu, was arrested with his wife, Nabiha al-Taha, who is also a journalist and was freed on the same day.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes al-Kassem’s release and calls on the Turkish and Syrian de facto authorities to stop their intimidation and harassment of journalists, which are a flagrant violation of press freedom and human rights.
Al-Kassem was freed one week after his arrest, local media reported without providing further explanation.
Journalist al-Kassem was arrested by local Syrian police force, on 26 August and transferred to Turkish intelligence custody in the Hawar Kilis area, on the Syrian-Turkish border, according to his wife, al-Taha, and the UK-based Syrian
Dozens of Daesh-linked detainees released from northeastern Syria
The Kurdish Autonomous Administration, which is considered the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria, has released dozens of Syrian detainees accused of being members of Daesh, according to AFP.
The agency quoted the head of relations in the Autonomous Administration’s internal security forces as saying yesterday that “50 people accused of belonging to the terrorist Daesh organisation were released,” without specifying which prisons they were detained in.
This comes within the framework of a general amnesty issued by the Autonomous Administration last July “for crimes committed by Syrians stipulated in the Anti-Terrorism Law, and crimes against the security of the region of North and East Syria stipulated in the Penal Code.”
This is the second batch of detainees to be released out of a total of 1,000 to 1,500 people included in the general amnesty issued by the Autonomous Administration.
The SDF detains tens of thousands of people suspected of belonging to Daesh, including hundreds of foreigners from various nationalities, in 24 detention facilities and two camps, Al-Howl and Roj, in northeastern Syria.
“Other batches of detainees are expected to be released in the coming months,” an official from the organisation said, adding that “the amnesty includes only Syrians and not foreigners.” He added that only those “whose hands are not stained with blood” will be released.
19 forcibly returned from Lebanon: 214 were detained in Syria in August
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented that at least 214 Syrians were subjected to arbitrary arrest during the past August, in addition to the Syrian regime forces detaining 19 people forcibly returned from Lebanon.
According to the SNHR report issued today, Monday, September 2, at least 214 Syrians were subjected to arbitrary arrest, including 13 children and seven women, of whom 173 turned into enforced disappearances.
According to the SNHR report, 113 people were arrested by the Syrian regime forces, including three children and one woman, while opposition factions and the Syrian National Army (SNA) arrested 46 people, including five children and six women. Additionally, 37 people were arrested by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including four children and one woman, and 18 people were arrested by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Idlib.
Regarding the distribution of arrests by governorates, Aleppo got the largest share, followed by the Damascus countryside, then Deir Ezzor, then Damascus, followed by Homs, then Hama, Idlib, and Daraa.
The report conducted a comparison between the cases of detention and the cases of release during the past August among the parties of the conflict, showing that the detention cases exceeded the release cases by not less than once or twice, especially by the Syrian regime.
