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In Syria, dozens of fighters of the Islamic State group, refugees in tunnels or between the ruins of their last stronghold in Baghouz, oppose a desperate resistance to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by Washington.
With our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh
Some 200 jihadists are said to be entrenched in a half-square-kilometer slum in Baghouz, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, occupied on Saturday by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF, supported by the Americans. They move in a network of tunnels dug under the last stronghold of the group Islamic State.
From the ruins of the city, the jihadists harass the attackers, who claim to take their time to spare the many inhabitants still present in the shelter. They would use these civilians and SDF prisoners as human shields, according to testimonies collected by journalists from people fleeing the hell of Baghouz.
The resistance of the latest IS fighters is all the more fierce as it is led by foreign jihadists who prefer to fight to the end rather than being sent back to their respective countries. In spite of the air raids of the international coalition and the violent shelling to the artillery, they showed, Saturday, no will to negotiate.
The battle is likely to last a few more days, even if its outcome is no longer in doubt: the SDS systematically raking the city and its surroundings. And the jihadists have no way of supply or withdrawal. For them, it is surrender or death.