News / Syria

Syrian civilians evade Daesh conscription in eastern Dayr al-Zawr prov.

Tuesday, 15 August 2017 12:53 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 August 2017 2:07 PM ]

Displaced Syrians from Dayr al-Zawr walk at a makeshift camp some seven kilometers from Arisha in the neighboring province of Hasakah on August 13, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Hundreds of residents of villages and towns in Syria’s conflict-ridden eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr have decided not to comply with the conscription policies of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, and have escaped their areas as the extremists lose territory across the war-ravaged country.

Many of them have sought refuge in makeshift camps for internally displaced persons in the neighboring province of Hasakah, including Arishah camp that lies in the southern quarter of the province.

Residents and the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that Daesh terrorists have told ordinary people via Friday sermons, loudspeakers and leaflets that they have only a week to register their names at militant recruitment offices.

Ali, who left his town of al-Eshara, southeast of Dayr al-Zawr city, along with his family, said Daesh Takfiris had described joining their ranks as a religious duty for people, “but the majority of the young men refused and thousands of us fled.”

“The situation became critical. They carried out raids on houses searching for young men to conscript into their forces,” 28-year-old Salah from the city of Mayadin, located about 44 kilometers southeast of Dayr al-Zawr, said.

Ahmed al-Abed, also from Mayadin, said those forced by Daesh terrorists to enlist “have to undergo a month of training and then they fight for them for four months.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that displaced civilians in Arishah camp face “terrible, terrible conditions.”

“These tents are literally in the middle of the desert. You have snakes and scorpions that are a daily threat for people,” ICRC spokeswoman, Ingy Sedky, said on Monday, adding, “You see children playing in toxic waste, drinking and bathing in contaminated water.”

Government forces, allies make gains in western Syria

Meanwhile, Syrian army soldiers, backed by allied fighters from popular defense groups, have established full control over Jeb al-Mazare’a Hill overlooking Salba village in the country’s western province of Hama.

A Syrian army tank is seen in Flitah, Syria, on August 2, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that army units and their allies inflicted heavy losses on Daesh ranks and their military equipment during the operation to retake the strategic area.

The report added that Syrian government forces also seized control of supply routes of Daesh extremists, who are holed up in the western part of Salba village.

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