By Jaime Ortega.
The alliance of rebel groups has taken a total of six days fighting with the jihadists of the Islamic Front in Iraq and Syria ( ISIS, as it was announced yesterday from the radical alepine hospital that serves as headquarters . The blow to the possessions of ISIS in the neighborhood of Qadi Askar , the second largest city of Syria, is a setback to its plans to secure a great Islamic emirate in the Middle East.
Before leaving the stronghold in Aleppo , ISIS burned bridges. The militiamen who defeated the siege also managed to free dozens of prisoners and extremists. But when they entered the hospital barracks , those who witnessed the scene were astonished to see at least 70 dead , many of them activists and combatants of rival factions , lay handcuffed and blindfolded . And savagely executed .
” It is a blow that will change the game ” , recognizes the Arabist Journalist Pieter Van Ostaeyen . “This will lead them to be strengthened in other areas, such as in the province of Raqa ” he added. The ISIS is undaunted . The day before yesterday , in a video , the spokesman Mohammed Adnani launched a defiant message . ” No one will survive ,” he said , turning to the rebels, ” I will become an example of what will happen to those who follow your path .”
ISIS declared war on the Syrian National Coalition , the main opposition, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) , and its armed wing. “We are aware of this threat,” confesses the WORLD press director of the Coalition. “Some of our activists in Syria are missing and we had to act against threats of attacks in some of our meetings in Istanbul ,” he says .
The ISIS threat was answered within a few hours . “We must prioritize the fight against the regime,” he urged in a recording to Yolani Mohammed , leader of the Al Nusra Front . The Islamic Front , the Front called Mujahideen and the new Revolutionary Syrian Front are the most prominent groups on Friday to have launched attacks on ISIS positions .
The move reflected a series of hostilities that the same opponents branded as “unacceptable ” , like the murder of the mediator Hassan Suleiman and senior rebel commander. The initiative strike Al Nusra , who unlike ISIS and although both share Salafi jihadist ideology is officially affiliated to Al Qaeda’s network. .
The Al Nusra ,tried to take a neutral stance in the dispute as even some of his closest groups participated in the rebel alliance, that called for a ceasefire with the ISIS , in an exchange of prisoners and the establishment of an Islamic committee to mediate disputes. “The regime has caught air ” added Yolani . Assad used air artillery yesterday , killing at least eight people in Tel Rifat province of Aleppo.
Amid Syrian chaos, two Swedish journalists were released yesterday . Magnus and Niclas Falkehed Hammarstrom , who’s track was lost last November, arrived in Beirut after he was moved from the border by the Red Cross . Sweden did not say which group had them in captivity, but a police spokesman said they had worked closely with other authorities to secure his release and that the Red Cross was not involved.
Within the country continue Syrian kidnapped at least 30 reporters , according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. This body recently named Syria ” the most dangerous place for journalists .” About 29 reporters have died only in 2013.
The Syrian National Coalition , which announced it would try to take measures to facilitate the work of the press in a war zone , is meeting these days in Istanbul. The organization re-elected Ahmed Jarba as its president. It also announced that it delayed his announcement until Jan. 17 making the decision to seek a crucial conference in Geneva 2, which is scheduled for January 22 , just five days later.
” ISIS is created too many enemies ,” says the member of the Research Group of the International Security, Xavier Jordan. One of them, Iraq. Thousands of families have fled these days to the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi , 50 miles from Baghdad a predominantly Sunni province of Anbar. On Friday, ISIS and other related groups ripped the center of the towns to secure forces and to declare their authority.
Prime Minister Nuri Maliki said “Victory is near” , held Maliki , with tanks besieging cities and food running out on them. Remains to be seen if it will come peacefully or with bloodshed .
