Russia questions SDF’s ability to provide security to northeast Syria
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish and US forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) are unable to ensure security to the region, claimed the Russian foreign ministry on Thursday, following a major attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) and prison break attempt.
ISIS attacked al-Sina’a prison in Hasaka city’s Ghweran neighbourhood last Thursday with explosive-laden vehicles and other weapons. The SDF declared full control of the prison on Wednesday but clashes continued on Thursday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the death toll has reached 218: 156 ISIS members, seven civilians and 55 members of Kurdish forces.
Alexey Zaitsev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a briefing on Thursday that the US and its Kurdish ally, SDF, have failed to eliminate ISIS in Rojava, reported TASS.
"It is obvious that neither the US nor the local Kurdish authorities have managed to ensure security in the northeastern Syrian territories they control," the diplomat said.
"The success of the ISIS attack against the Sinaa prison, where the most dangerous terrorists were kept, proved yet again that the US military failed in its mission," he added.
The US has been providing military and humanitarian support to the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria since 2014 when ISIS controlled swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land.
SDF and the US defeated ISIS territorially in 2019 but the group still remains a threat to the region. The SDF prisons hold more than 10,000 ISIS members and the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka consists of about 56,000 people, most of whom are affiliated to ISIS.
Kurdish officials have made several calls, with the latest being on Thursday, on the international community to repatriate their nationals who are affiliated to ISIS.
ISIS attacked al-Sina’a prison in Hasaka city’s Ghweran neighbourhood last Thursday with explosive-laden vehicles and other weapons. The SDF declared full control of the prison on Wednesday but clashes continued on Thursday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the death toll has reached 218: 156 ISIS members, seven civilians and 55 members of Kurdish forces.
Alexey Zaitsev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a briefing on Thursday that the US and its Kurdish ally, SDF, have failed to eliminate ISIS in Rojava, reported TASS.
"It is obvious that neither the US nor the local Kurdish authorities have managed to ensure security in the northeastern Syrian territories they control," the diplomat said.
"The success of the ISIS attack against the Sinaa prison, where the most dangerous terrorists were kept, proved yet again that the US military failed in its mission," he added.
The US has been providing military and humanitarian support to the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria since 2014 when ISIS controlled swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land.
SDF and the US defeated ISIS territorially in 2019 but the group still remains a threat to the region. The SDF prisons hold more than 10,000 ISIS members and the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka consists of about 56,000 people, most of whom are affiliated to ISIS.
Kurdish officials have made several calls, with the latest being on Thursday, on the international community to repatriate their nationals who are affiliated to ISIS.