Global Coalition returns to Syria’s Kobani
Raqqa, Syria (North Press) – The return of the Global Coalition to the Kobani region, north Syria, for the second time after its withdrawal from it in October 2019 is a source of relief and welcome from the residents of Kobani and its countryside.
The Global Coalition stationed in the French cement manufacturer Lafarge near Kobani. It was the main base of the coalition in Syria, but it withdrew during the Turkish invasion of the cities of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad in October 2019.
On Wednesday, two helicopters of the Global Coalition landed at nine p.m in the Lafarge company. Four hours alter the helicopters took off, said Abdulrahim Ahmed, a resident of the town of Jalabiya, 40 km south of Kobani.
Civilian activists circulated a video clip showing the Global Coalition planes taking off from Lafarge company.
For a month, the company’s outskirts have witnessed noticeable movements by the Global Coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which makes the local residents believe that they are working on establishing a military airbase.
After the withdrawal of the Global Coalition in 2019, the Russian forces and the Syrian government entered the areas of Kobani, Manbij, the countryside of Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye, in coordination with the SDF to stop the Turkish incursion.
The Russian forces stationed in most of the military bases and posts of the coalition forces, which US officials considered at the time to be a Russian occupation of American bases.
However, the base of the Global Coalition in Lafarge remained under the control of the SDF.
The withdrawal of the Global Coalition in October 2019 from its bases in Kobani and Sere Kaniye, was a shock to the residents of the region. It opened the way for the Turkish forces and Turkish-backed opposition SNA factions to occupy the cities of Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad, which caused the displacement of nearly 300,000 people, according to UN reports.
This is the second time for the coalition’s helicopters to return to carry out operations against ISIS members in the area under the control of the SNA. The first operation targeted the leader of ISIS, Abdullah Qaradash, in Idlib, while the second one targeted Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, the Wali (governor) of Raqqa in Jarablus.
Ahmed says that the residents were happy on the nights of the second and third of last February when 6 helicopters of the Global Coalition landed at Lafarge base south of Kobani, for the first time after the withdrawal. The residents believed that the coalition begun to return to its bases in their areas.
In his interview with North Press, Ahmed expresses his satisfaction with the Global Coalition’s use of Lafarge, which is only hundreds of meters away from his home to launch operations against ISIS. This use comes in tandem with Turkish threats to launch a new military operation in northern Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said May 23 that Turkey would soon launch a new military operation into northern Syria to create a 30-kilometer (19-mile) security zone along the border.
Late on Wednesday night, the Global Coalition announced the success of an operation that resulted in the arrest of a prominent leader of ISIS in the city of Jarablus, northern Syria
U.S. officials identified the suspect as Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi, whom they said also was known as the Wali of Raqqa, Washington Post newspaper said.
An overnight raid by United States special forces in northwestern Syria led to the death of the Islamic State terror group’s top leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, President Joe Biden said on February 23.
On June 1, Mahmoud Kobani, a leader in the Kobani Military Council, which is affiliated with the SDF, told North Press that they have permanent coordination with the Global Coalition forces to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with Turkey.
Following the Turkish invasion of the cities of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad in October 2019, Turkey signed a ceasefire agreement with the Russian and American sides.