Syrian Democratic Forces Spokesperson Kino Gabriel: Al-Hol Camp has become the last ISIS stronghold

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA – In an interview with TV-program ‘With Decision Makers’, SDF spokesperson Kino Gabriel explained the many post-ISIS Caliphate military and threatening security dossiers still on the table of the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria.

The SDF spokesperson indicated that the reason for the support from the US-led International Coalition for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which Gabriel’s Syriac Military Council is co-founder, is that the United States came to understand that the groups and factions on the ground in the Free Syrian Army it supported, funded, and trained, were unable to confront and defeat ISIS: “Our forces had shown through many of their efforts and battles, sometimes without any support, their ability to confront and defeat this terrorist organization in many areas of Syria,” Gabriel said.

When asked about the siege against ISIS in Baghoz in eastern rural Dayro Zcuro (Deir ez-Zor) by SDF forces and not being able to fully eliminate, Gabriel replied: “In Baghoz we faced not only the fighters of ISIS but there were thousands of civilians which ISIS barbarically used as human shield. So, we did not think for a moment to turn Baghoz into a mass grave.”

“What happened in Baghoz after the defeat of ISIS can be considered as the transfer of ISIS from Baghoz to the al-Hol camp. Al-Hol has now become the last stronghold of ISIS, and it remains an unresolved and threatening dossier. It is a ticking time bomb that can explode any time and potentially damage the whole Region and affect the entire international community,” Gabriel said.

“Even if we establish local courts and make judgements against ISIS members and their families, there are many more obstacles, including the construction of new prisons and camps. This is beyond the capacity of the Democratic Autonomous Administration.”

With regards to the Turkey and its October 2019 invasion of North and East Syria, the SDF spokesperson said: “Turkey’s project is not only linked to Syria, but also to the entire Middle East. To infiltrate and occupy unstable countries through mercenary groups from different countries.”

“We are always positive about the future of the region because our forces and the Democratic Autonomous Administration have provided a positive working model that can serve as a model for the future solution of Syria as a whole; through activating the form of decentralized governance we implemented and enabling it to manage itself.”