ISIS Kills Over 700 People in Syria’s Deir Ezzor Province

Fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) have “shelled, beheaded, crucified and shot” over 700 people from the Shaitat tribe after they rose up against the extremists. The tribal revolt took place in Abu Hamma, Syria’s eastern oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor. The massacre is believed to be the largest atrocity committed in Syria by ISIS to date.

The Shaitat tribe and other rebel groups have spent much of this year battling against encroachment by the Islamic State. Their losses have been significant; in August, ISIS was responsible for another massacre of Shaitat tribesmen, killing hundreds of people.

Members of the group complain that they have not received help from the U.S. in their ongoing battles with ISIS, leading to growing resentment on the ground.

“We saw what the Americans did to help the Yazidis and the Kurds. But they have done nothing to help the Sunnis against the Islamic State,” Abu Salem, a rebel commander from the Shaitat tribe told the Washington Times. Thus far the U.S.-led air campaign has carried out more airstrikes on Islamic State forces besieging the Kurdish town of Kobani than on any other single location in Iraq or Syria.

The U.S. has repeatedly emphasized that its main focus is curbing ISIS influence in Iraq; military action in Syria is “being done primarily to shape the conditions in Iraq,” said General Lloyd Austin, the leader of U.S. Central Command.

In August, the United Nations accused ISIS of committing war crimes, including amputations, public executions and sex slavery.

Fresh Fighting in Kobani, as Turkey Shifts to Allow Iraqi Kurds to Join the Fight

Fierce fighting erupted north of the Syrian town of Kobani, the BBC reports, with ISIS militants launching an offensive “on all fronts” against Kurdish fighters.

The BBC also posted satellite images before and after the U.S.-led airstrikes aimed at supporting Kurdish fighters on the ground.

“The battle is regarded as a major test of whether the coalition’s air campaign can push back the jihadists,” the BBC wrote.

Syria’s Kurds will reportedly see a boost in their fighting capacity, with the arrival of their co-ethnic comrades from Iraq. Yesterday Turkey announced that it would allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters to cross its borders into Syria, to aid the besieged town of Kobani. The Iraqi Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, will help take on ISIS fighters battling for control of the town.

Jabar Yawar, a Peshmerga ministry spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, told Reuters the Iraqi Kurdish region was prepared to send “backup forces either by land or air” to Kobani, but that forces were not en route yet. Peshmerga forces have been busy battling back ISIS in Iraq; the group holds the Iraqi city of Mosul as well as much of its surrounding Nineveh province.

The move was announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in what is seen as an important shift by Turkey’s government. This weekend Turkey’s President Recep vTayyip Erdoğan said he opposed a U.S. arms transfer to Kurdish fighters in Kobani,]10 calling them “equal to the PKK,” a reference to the Kurdish militant group that has long fought for greater autonomy. Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist entity.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Turkish concerns over supporting the Kurds in Syria. Last week tensions over the fighting in Kobani led to riots among Turkey’s Kurdish population, which resulted in the death of 19 people.

Turkey has so far refused to commit its own troops or let U.S. forces launch strikes on ISIS from a strategic military base on its soil. The U.S.-led coalition carried out six airstrikes around Kobani on Sunday and Monday, according to the BBC.

U.N. Says it Would Offer Support for Safe Zones Inside Syria

The U.N. would offer humanitarian assistance for a proposed “safe zone” inside Syria, even if it were created without a Security Council resolution, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official Valerie Amos told Reuters in an interview. Amos said that a ground force, ideally backed by a U.N. resolution, would be needed to protect civilians.

The idea of a safe zone, or buffer zone, was proposed by Turkey in response to the ISIS advance on Kobani; the battle there prompted more than 160,000 Syrians to seek refuge in Turkey, in what has been the biggest displacement in the Syrian conflict. Almost 10 million people have been displaced inside Syria and over 3 million have fled to neighboring countries, adding additional instability to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

The argument for a buffer zone is that it would allow Syrian refugees to live safely within their own borders, without spilling over into other countries. Analysts say it would also help empower Syrian rebel groups to fight against both ISIS and the Assad regime. A buffer zone would allow rebels “to better organize themselves on the ground to provide services to local people,” Noah Bonsey of the International Crisis Group told Syria Deeply.

But the governments of Iran and Syria have opposed the move, saying it would break international law. It is presumed that Russia, which holds veto power in the U.N. Security Council, would also stand against it.

Until now the U.S. has resisted calls to create a buffer zone in Syria; it would not only be a costly move, but one that would force the U.S. to confront Syrian President Bashar al-Assad directly, with a no-fly zone to protect the areas from regime airstrikes.

Amos, nonetheless, threw her influence behind the idea.

“Without a solution we’re just going to see these numbers [of refugees] spiralling even more out of control,” she said.

Recommended Reads:

• Wall Street Journal: Ability to Punish Syria for Alleged Chlorine Weapons Attacks Is Limited, U.S. Says

• Reuters: Islamic State Oil Output Was $2 Million Day Before Air Strikes

• Guardian: Death at Sea: Syrian Migrants Film Their Perilous Voyage to Europe

• Huffington Post: McCain Will Push for Ground Troops in Iraq, Syria If Republicans Win the Senate

• The Independent: The Danish Town Where Syria’s Jihadist Fighters Are Welcomed Home

Photo Credit: Courtesy of AP Images