U.S.-Backed Rebel Groups Open Offensive in Raqqa

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an attack on Raqqa, the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) on Sunday, according to Reuters.

The SDF is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab opposition groups and is backed by the United States, who will be coordinating airstrikes in Raqqa with the group. An SDF spokeswoman said that the attack would be the beginning of a major military campaign that would aim to take back Raqqa from ISIS militants.

Turkey previously said that it would target Raqqa in its own operation, but it was rejected from joining the SDF offensive, called Euphrates Anger, because of hostility between Kurdish groups and Turkish-backed rebels.

ISIS is currently battling a major offensive by U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, another of the militants’ strongholds. The U.S. and France support simultaneous action against Mosul and Raqqa, fearing that ISIS would use its Syrian stronghold to regroup and plan international attacks.

Syrian Rebels Await Renewed Russian Bombing in Aleppo

Syrian opposition members and civilians await a renewed Russian air campaign against the rebel-held eastern area of Aleppo after Russia’s evacuation deadline passed on Friday, according to Reuters.

Despite the Syrian government reportedly sending buses and ambulances to evacuate people from the besieged area, residents did not leave and braced for the resumption of Russian airstrikes. A Syrian civil defense official, member of a volunteer search and rescue organization, said that they could make few preparations other than being ready 24 hours a day.

Before the cease-fire, Western countries said that Russia purposefully targeted hospitals and aid workers in actions that could amount to war crimes. Allowing people to leave the besieged areas is part of a policy of depopulating rebel-held areas, bombing them into submission and starving the population, the opposition says. The United Nations said that it opposes evacuation of civilians unless it is voluntary.

During the 17-day pause in airstrikes, rebels shelled government-held areas and used at least 15 suicide car bombs in an attempt to break the government siege. Russia and Syria say that rebels took advantage of the pause in airstrikes to attack government-held areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom-based monitoring group, said that 69 civilians, including 25 children, had died in rebel shelling since late December.

Russia Warns of Possible Attacks from Returning Jihadists

Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev warned of possible attacks by jihadists returning to Russia from Syria, Reuters reported.

In an interview with Channel 2 Israel on Sunday, Medvedev said that thousands of Russian citizens and individuals from former Soviet states are fighting with anti-government forces in Syria. Late last year, the director of the FSB, the Russian security service, said that some 2,900 Russians had traveled to Syria to fight.

Russia continues to be a major player in the Syrian civil war, providing important backing for the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow says that its main objective in Syria is to eliminate the so-called Islamic State, which the Kremlin sees as a threat to Russia and the world, along with other militant groups operating in the war-torn country.

Medvedev said in the interview that the Syrian people should themselves decide the political future of Syria, but that the Syrian government asked the Russians to assist in reinstating law and order. Medvedev pointed out that Russia had experience with Islamic terrorism in the Caucasus wars of the 1990s.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The Washington Post: How Russia’s Lone Aircraft Carrier Will Change the Fight in Syria
• Al-Monitor: Creeping Offensives, Truces Spread Tensions in South Syrian Rebel Ranks
• Foreign Policy: It’s Time to Give Assad’s Soldiers a Ticket Out
• The Christian Science Monitor: An Ancient Cure for War-Torn Syria
• Al Jazeera: I Live in Aleppo, Under Siege