Hundreds Killed as ISIS Gains Ground in Eastern Syria

Reuters reports that as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant chase the Iraqi army from that country’s second-largest city, Mosul, their brethren in eastern Syria are on week six of an offensive that has killed 600 fighters and driven more than 130,000 civilians from their homes.

“ISIS, which is battling to control a huge area of eastern Syria and western Iraq, has advanced along the Euphrates River in the oil producing Deir al-Zor province, driving back militants from al-Qaida’s Nusra Front and other Islamic brigades,” the wire writes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based rights group, says ISIS now controls most of the northeast bank of the Euphrates, from close to the Turkish border down to Busayra, a town 200 miles to the southeast. The group also says ISIS’s goal is to extend its control over to Albukamal, a town on the Iraqi border. The move would strengthen ties between its Syrian and Iraqi branches.

So far, 241 ISIS fighters and 354 from Jabhat al-Nusra and other Islamic brigades had been killed in fighting in the Deir Ezzor offensive. The civilian toll stands at 39.

Rights Groups “Skeptical” About Assad Amnesty Pledge

Aryn Baker of Time Magazine reports that both former prisoners and human rights groups are “skeptical” about this week’s pledge by Assad to grant amnesty to Syrian detainees. Since the beginning of the conflict, more than 200,000 Syrians have been in detention.

“If applied with the same sweeping generosity as the announcement suggests, the amnesty could result in tens of thousands of prisoners being released back into Syrian society,” she writes. “But families with loved ones in prison may want to temper their expectations a little bit longer, warn human-rights groups. Previous amnesties fell short of their promise, and presaged an even greater crackdown on human rights. And ambiguities in the wording of the current amnesty offer, including several non-specified exemptions, could mean that many remain behind bars for years to come.”

“Let’s see what happens on the ground first,” Neil Sammonds, Syria researcher for Amnesty International, tells Baker. “If this is carried out, then of course it will be welcome. Still, it only goes a small way to addressing the concerns we have about the numbers in Syria’s prisons, their access to lawyers, their adequate medical care, their right not to be subjected to torture and the prompt investigation of those accused of torture.”

Robert Ford: Arm Syria’s Opposition

Robert Ford, the most recent U.S. ambassador to Syria, says in a New York Times op-ed that the U.S. should arm the Syrian opposition.

“We don’t need American airstrikes in Syria, and we certainly don’t need American troops there. But with partner countries from the Friends of Syria group like France, Britain, Germany, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, we must ramp up sharply the training and material aid provided to the moderates in the armed opposition,” he writes.

“Over the past two years, I met fighters from the Free Syrian Army many times. These men were not angels: Many were former regime officers; all had military experience. In a memorable meeting last November, we exchanged barbs for hours, but they made clear that they did not accept al-Qaida’s philosophy. They acknowledged that they would ultimately have to fight al-Qaida and the foreign jihadis.

“They agreed to negotiate with the regime, while holding firm that Mr. Assad must go. Yet they doubted they could extract concessions given their current level of material support, and the talks in Geneva in January and February proved them right. The message from last week’s election is that governing Damascus and part of a failed state counts as a victory for Mr. Assad even if his prospects for vanquishing the opposition are negligible.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team

Reuters: Assad Tops List of Syria War Crimes Suspects Handed to ICC: Former Prosecutor

AP: Syrian Woman Survives 700 Days of Blockade

AP: Syria Islamist Factions in New Push Against Rivals

Washington Post: ISIS: The al-Qaeda Linked Islamists Powerful Enough to Capture an Entire City