Syrian Forces Advance on Aleppo, Rebels Fear Another Siege
Months after beginning a renewed siege on Aleppo, the Wall Street Journal reports that Syrian government forces have “nearly encircled” Syria’s second-largest city. Should they gain control there, it would would be the biggest blow to rebel forces in more than three years of conflict.
The fall of Aleppo, it writes, “could also bolster the ranks of Islamic State militants who continue to make gains across the country, as defeated members of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army switch to their side. Rebel commanders in Aleppo say they are stockpiling goods as aid groups step up food deliveries — crates of lentils, rice, ketchup and baby formula — seeking to prevent the same kind of mass starvation that forced them to surrender the much smaller city of Homs in May.”
Yazidi Refugees Arrive in Syria
ITV reports that a “steady stream” of Yazidi refugees have been arriving in Syria, having escaped entrapment by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Iraq’s Mount Sinjar.
“A steady stream of Iraqi refugees has been trickling over the border into Syria after having trekked for days across parched earth to reach safety,” the British network says. “One man at the Peshkabour border crossing over the Tigris River lifted his shirt to reveal a wound he said was inflicted by Islamist militants. Thousands of those have escaped in recent days, either by traversing the dry terrain to Syria or the Kurdish region, or in limited airlifts by the Iraqi military.”
The Syrian government, via state news agency SANA, says that about 1,000 Iraqi families have taken refuge in Hassakeh province.
“The U.N. agency for refugees, UNHCR, meanwhile, put the number of Iraqis who had fled to Syria at 10,000 to 15,000 people,” AFP reports. “They arrived in Syria despite the raging civil war there that has ravaged the country since March 2011 and killed more than 170,000 people. The news agency said 700 tents had also been set up in Ain al-Khadra in the same region of the northeastern province that borders Iraq, to cater for arriving refugees.”
In Ankara Neighborhood, a Microcosm of ISIS Recruitment
Emily Feldman of Mashable reports from a crumbling neighborhood in Ankara, where ISIS has focused recruiting efforts.
Locals there “estimate that as many as 100 young men have traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State,” she writes. “During a recent visit to the Hacibayram neighborhood, several men openly admitted to being members of the militant group, home on a break — though all spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“One man — a bearded, former alcoholic, who wore a casual T-shirt — bragged that his accommodations in Raqqa were like ‘a 5-star hotel’”. His home in Hacibayram is a crumbling walk-up that he shares with his wife and their two toddlers. The man said that once his holiday break was over, he would bring his entire family to Syria. Another Turk in his early 30s explained that the radical group in Raqqa provided recruits with free food, Internet access and a small monthly stipend.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team
AP: Islamic Militants Crush Tribal Uprising in Syria
The New York Review of Books: Syria: The Other Threat
AFP: Pentagon Cites Progress Destroying Syria Chemical Arms
AFP: In Syria’s Yarmouk Camp, a Pianist Conjures Hope
Guardian: Permits, Politics and Patience: The Reality of Getting Aid into Syria