By Wassim Essa, click to see the full-size image
On May 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the besieged fighters of ISIS south of the city of Damascus reached a 24-hours ceasefire agreement, according to the Russian TV network RT.
RT claimed that the ceasefire will be followed by an evacuation agreement that will allow more than 1,700 fighters of ISIS and their families to withdraw to an unknown area.
A source in the SAA 4th Division confirmed to SouthFront that a temporary ceasefire is reached in southern Damascus. However, the source stressed that no evacuation agreement is being discussed as for now.
Minutes after RT’s claims, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) denied any agreement between the SAA and the besieged fighters of ISIS in southern Damascus. However, the news agency didn’t comment on the temporary ceasefire.
Local observers believe that the temporary ceasefire was agreed upon as a part of a limited deal to exchange prisoners or the bodies of fighters who were killed during the recent clashes. The SAA may also allow the civilians, including the families of ISIS fighters, to withdraw from southern Damascus.
I guess that the SAA should offer them to be transported to Hajin. More problems for the SDF? Why not? Or who said that Ruskies won’t hunt ISIS ducks during a passage through the Euphrates? ?
lost count on how many time ISIS attempt to make a deal to escape Yarmuk, the have shot them self in the back by brutally killing those SAA soldiers at the start of the offensive.
Field commanders an their troops have blocked previous deals because the want ISIS pay for what the have done to their brothers in arms
I hope they will kill them all as message to all other terrorists !
They should level that area with the bombs and destroy everything and kill everybody there if they refuse to surrender ! They should bomb them day and night !
Unconditional surrender is the right option at this stage I think. Interrogation of ISIS will reveal many things that the US Coalition of Terror would rather not see the light of day.
Yes agree
Yes, and in a court of law so that it can be open source material after all of their butchery and crime. So that there will be no denying what’s happened.
Complete nonsense, lSlS has nothing to do with US coalition. Stupid russian and Iranian shiite propaganda…
this indeed is sad but the reality might leave the saa no other chance. the pro government forces lost a huge number of it’s personal in this operation which are not being anounced. the situtation on other parts of syria is forcing them to make a deal with the IS. yeap this is not a victory because saa have failed too catch these IS punks as prisoners, but have to let them all go. considering these IS punks are one of the very strongest one, they had to catch them as prisoners. now these IS punks have made a reputation and gained much more confidence. they will be moved somewhere else, and have the chance to become stronger. they will be able to take much more blood of the saa next time.
they were the elites of the current IS forces. i don’t think it’s a good idea even the saa lost a lot of it’s units and are facing other serious problems in other parts of syria, to just let these IS punks go somewhere else. this could have a heavy consequence in the future. saa didn’t really have a major operation going on besides yamuruk camp.
ISIS in the desert will achieve two main things I suspect.
Their death and the full exposure of the US Coalition of Terror as they attempt to save ISIS.
guebjuen but
guebjuen 3+
But they have nowhere to be evacuated to… They should all be killed. They brought it upon themselves, I mean they are an internationally recognized terrorist bunch of cunts, why bother? They’d probably kidnap the bus drivers and behead them for no reason anyway.
They do have places…. At Tanf or the border with Israel.
Or at the foot of Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Truth, they do need a real education.
Afganistan via Raka
But they have nowhere to be evacuated to…
Texas
This is BIG MISTAKE ! They should bomb them into the oblivion without risking the lives of SAA. No TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE no SURRENDER and no possibility for terrorist to sleep and recover! They should bomb the shit out of them !!!
spot on thank you.this all is unnecssary. a meat grinder.100´s of saa and allied popular troops lost already.Bomb them period.families?kids? somebody joking here? these are psychopaths, from kid on…let them grow up, and start all over again?u musst be kidding folks.Burn and bury them period.
I’m not after their families…But since they have no mercy they should not receive mercy… Their families if they are “collateral victims” so be it…… Lives of SAA soldiers are more important ! So ISIS should be bombed night and day !
There is no reason for an evacuation deal. There is no path for amnesty for these fighters, and it is their own fault if they refused to send their families to safety by now. They can die here or surrender and be executed later. If they care about their families at all, they will surrender.
Opposition confirms the ceasefire and evacuation, however the proposed evacuation has been delayed for some reason. I’d love to know where the “unknown location” is that they’re supposed to be shipping them off to, and the reason they’re keeping it secret. The SAA are in the process of planning an operation to eliminate the large pocket of Isis south of the Euphrates in Dier ez-Zor, this seems to me to be the most likely location. The US and Iraq are currently tackling the other 2 major pockets of Isis still left they can go to. The one at Hajin is currently besieged by the SDF and on the brink of annihilation, and more to the point, it’s so small in area it couldn’t handle another 1700 fighters let alone their families as well, it won’t be here for sure. The other pocket that operates in the southern area al-Hasakah and northern parts of Dier ez-Zor are in SDF territory too, so unless some type of arrangements are made between the SAA, Isis the USA and the Kurds this won’t be the place either. HTS in Idlib might allow them into their territory but I doubt it, and both SLF and FSA forces would kill them and their families on the spot if they could, so it won’t be anywhere near them either. I think they’ll end up in the open deserts of Dier ez-Zor having to hide under rocks to avoid the Russian and Syrian air forces, then their families will sneak down to Al-Tanf, where they’ll hitch rides home on US air transport, if you think I’m making a joke, I’m not. The US base at Al-Tanf, was both protecting and supplying Isis fighters in this area, that’s until the Russians tightened the net around the 55km exclusion zone, [which the US had illegally imposed on the SAA], and stopped it full stop.
That 1700 is ISIS and their families not many of them are fighters mostly women and children , they are on buses awaiting to leave.
Yes I just read it’s Dier ez-Zor but didn’t really think it could be anywhere else, as I said there were no other real viable options. The delay means something though, a deal to protect the family members after they arrive most probably but who knows for sure. I read 1700 fighters and their families, which number 1500, so 3200 people in total. that’s a lot of buses and fuel, I’d make them walk all the way.