Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 16 March 2018
Syria: Thousands flee from violence in
Kurdish official, key to US policy, killed mass exodus from Syrian towns

By SARAH EL DEEB mental in negotiating a being behind the assas- By SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press deal with the remnants of IS sination of Alloush, saying PHILIP ISSA
BEIRUT (AP) — A senior to evacuate the city after he received threats before. Associated Press
Kurdish official who played they were squeezed into a Turkey views the dominant BEIRUT (AP) — Tens of thousands of terrified men, wom-
a key role with the United small sliver of land. Kurdish militia, which is the en and children streamed out on foot and in pick-up
States in implementing its The October evacuation U.S. partner in the fight trucks Thursday from besieged enclaves on two fronts,
post-Islamic State group deal allowed a number of against IS in Syria, as a ter- fleeing bombings from the Syrian military near the capi-
policy in northern Syria has IS fighters to leave Raqqa rorist group. tal, Damascus, and Turkish troops in the country's north.
been found dead in his in a convoy of vehicles, Ankara had sent troops It was the largest single-day exodus of civilians from
apartment, Kurdish officials sparking criticism that the into Syria to push the Kurd- fighting in Syria's civil war and a reminder of how the
said Thursday. militants were let off the ish militia away from its bor-
conflict that sparked the world's worst humanitarian
catastrophe continues to hit new lows as it enters its
eighth year.
The flight of an estimated 42,000 civilians came as their
attackers— Syrian government troops, backed by Rus-
sian aircraft, and Turkish forces — pushed their way
into civilian centers, in strategic military advances that
could turn the page on some of the most volatile flash-
points of the conflict.
Near the capital, Damascus, the Syrian government is
chipping away at one of the largest and most signifi-
cant opposition bastions since the early days of the re-
bellion — communities where some 400,000 people are
estimated to be holed up.
Since mid-February, Syrian troops have targeted the
capital's sprawling eastern Ghouta region with shells,
airstrikes and, at times, even toxic gas, according to
opposition medics. They are now in control of the ma-
jority of the enclave that had been in rebel hands since
2012.
Over the weekend, Syrian troops divided the enclave
into three sectors, isolating the major urban centers
and enabling a swift advance.
This June 28, 2017 photo provided by Omar Alloush, show Alloush, a senior Kurdish official, center,
standing next to family members of a fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces who was killed in Starting Wednesday night, intense shelling and aerial
battle against the Islamic State group, in Raqqa, northern Syria. Syrian Kurdish officials said Thurs- strikes paved the way for a ground advance on Ham-
day, March 15, 2018, that Alloush who played a key role with the United States in implementing ouria, a town in the region's isolated southern pocket.
its post-Islamic State policy in northern Syria, has been found dead in his apartment, in northern It also triggered a mass exodus, unexpected in scale.
Syria. At least 10,000 men, women and children emerged
(Omar Alloush, via AP) from Hamouria and nearby opposition towns, carry-
ing mats and other possessions that sometimes poked
Omar Alloush's death is a hook. The U.S.-led coali- ders and prevent it from out of suitcases. An elderly man pushed a bicycle piled
blow to the post-IS efforts tion said it was not involved linking up areas it controls with belongings. A shepherd brought his herd of sheep
in the region, as he played in the negotiations, which in west and east Syria. The and cattle with him through the corridor set up by gov-
a key role in mediating aimed to save lives. U.S. support for the Kurdish- ernment forces.
between Arabs and Kurds Another Arab mediator led forces was a reason for "What other choice do people have?" said a doctor
and in shaping the U.S. pol- who played a key role in souring relations with An- from Hamouria, who left a week earlier for another
icy in the area. an evacuation deal of IS kara. rebel-held town after his clinic and home were totally
The main Kurdish party militants from Tabqa, a Nadim Houry, director of destroyed. "It is either death or exiting," said the doc-
in Syria said Thursday the town near Raqqa, was also the counter-terrorism pro- tor, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his
death of Alloush is under found killed last month in gram for Human Rights identity and ensure the safety of his family.
investigation, and officials Syria. Watch, called Alloush's The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring
suspect foul play. Top Kurdish official Fawza death "terrible news," de- group estimated that some 12,500 civilians fled eastern
Alloush was found dead in Yousef said Alloush's killing is scribing him as a "corner- Ghouta. Later the government said it had seized Ham-
his apartment in Tal Aby- a blow to joint Arab-Kurdish stone" of Kurdish-Arab rela- ouria, but activists said opposition forces were fighting
ad, a majority Arab town action and social peace tions in the area. back.
in northern Syria where he following the defeat of IS. "Whoever killed him wants The Observatory also said government forces tar-
helped set up a joint Arab- "Omar Alloush had a key to destabilize the area," geted a column of civilians fleeing Hamouria before
Kurd administrative council role in forming the Raqqa Houry wrote on his Twitter dawn Thursday, wounding several people, and that 26
after it was liberated from IS city council and in devel- account. people were killed in government strikes on the town
in 2015. oping the concept of co- U.S. officials had no im- Wednesday.
Alloush moved on to play existence in Tal Abyad, mediate comment on Al- State-run Al-Ihkbariya TV said civilians would be taken
a key role in forming the Raqqa and Tabqa," she loush's death. to a center for identification and to receive humanitar-
U.S-backed civil council said, naming also another Nicholas Heras, a Middle ian aid. The pro-government Al-Mayadeen TV showed
for Raqqa, also a majority major town west of Raqqa East Security Fellow at the buses waiting to transport those who fled.
Arab town which was also that was recaptured from Washington-based Center Meanwhile, to the north, tens of thousands fled the
the de-facto capital of IS. for a New American Securi- Turkish military offensive on the Syrian Kurdish-controlled
IS. Raqqa was cleared of Those who killed him "want ty, said Alloush's suspected enclave of Afrin. Turkey considers the Kurdish militia a
the militants last year after to incite sedition between killing was a "terrible blow" threat to its national security.
months of fighting. ethnic groups and ignite to the U.S. efforts to stabilize Turkish forces tightened their siege of Afrin in recent
Alloush and other Arab internal infighting," she said. Raqqa and therefore U.S. days.
tribal leaders were instru- Yousef accused Turkey of strategy in Syria.q