While France and Germany have expressed concern over a resurgence of the Islamic State (IEO) following the Turkish offensive that has been ongoing for several days, the Kurdish administration announced on Sunday (October 13th) that 800 relatives of terrorist group jihadists reportedly fled an IDP camp. According to the Kurds, they would have benefited from the chaos created by the Ankara military operations in Syria.
Sunday, "785 (relatives) of foreign members of the OEI have fled the camp of Ain Issa," said in a statement the Kurdish administration. "They attacked the guards and opened the doors".
"All the families of IS members have fled," Kurdish official Abdel Qader Mouahad told AFP, reporting "riots" and the presence of jihadist "sleeping cells" pretending to be displaced people in the camp.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), some of the camp guards withdrew to support the Kurdish forces fighting the Syrian deputies 10 km away.
The fighting in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, continues to rage on the fifth day of the offensive, resulting in the deaths of more than 150 people, including some 50 civilians, and the exodus of more than 130 people. 000 people, according to the United Nations.
Paris and Berlin "worried" about a possible resurgence of the OEI
The spokeswoman for the French government expressed France's "anxiety" after the flight of these 800 or so close jihadists and called on Turkey once again to "end its intervention as soon as possible" against the Kurds.
"Obviously we are worried about what could happen," government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye told France 3 television. "That's why we want Turkey to end. as soon as possible this intervention that we have obviously condemned, "she added, mentioning the risk of a humanitarian crisis caused by this offensive.
Same story on the Berlin side. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to immediately halt the offensive, which could cause a large part of the population of the targeted area to be displaced as well as provoke "a destabilization of the region. and (to) lead to a resurgence of (the OEI), "she added in a phone call, according to a statement from her office.
On Saturday, Germany and France announced that they were suspending sales of weapons "likely to be used" by Ankara as part of its military operation in northeastern Syria against the YPG.
"Catastrophe" with consequences beyond Syria
Bombings also targeted the area around the camp, said the Kurdish authorities and the OSDH.
Some 12,000 IS fighters, Syrians, Iraqis and 2,500 to 3,000 foreigners from 54 countries are being held in Kurdish-controlled prisons, according to their statistics. IDP camps are home to some 12,000 foreigners, 8,000 children and 4,000 women.
While Westerners have condemned the Turkish offensive by fearing a resurgence of the OEI, the Kurdish authorities have called for international action "fast to prevent a disaster whose consequences will not be limited to Syria."
With this assault, Turkey seeks to establish a "security zone" 32 km deep to separate its border territories in the hands of the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia called "terrorist" by Ankara.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has established de facto autonomy over large areas of the north and north-east of the country along the Turkish border, has been the essential partner of Westerners, mainly the United States, in the fight against the OEI.
And they warned repeatedly that the Turkish assault could lead to a resurgence of the terrorist organization that would benefit from a very limited security control with the redeployment of Kurdish forces to fight the Turks and their auxiliaries Syrian.
With AFP and Reuters