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Iraqi Forces Enter al-Qaim in ‘Last Big Fight’ against ISIS

Iraqi troops storm a building in the town of Anna during the first phase of their drive up the Euphrates valley against ISIS on September 22, 2017. (AFP Photo/MOADH AL-DULAIMI)
Iraqi troops storm a building in the town of Anna during the first phase of their drive up the Euphrates valley against ISIS on September 22, 2017. (AFP Photo/MOADH AL-DULAIMI)
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Iraqi Forces Enter al-Qaim in ‘Last Big Fight’ against ISIS

Iraqi troops storm a building in the town of Anna during the first phase of their drive up the Euphrates valley against ISIS on September 22, 2017. (AFP Photo/MOADH AL-DULAIMI)
Iraqi troops storm a building in the town of Anna during the first phase of their drive up the Euphrates valley against ISIS on September 22, 2017. (AFP Photo/MOADH AL-DULAIMI)

Iraqi forces on Friday entered Al-Qaim, the main town in ISIS’ last bastion in the country, military commanders said.

Backed by Iraqi and US-led coalition air strikes, Iraqi forces unleashed early Friday morning a barrage of artillery fire against militant positions inside the town.

Troops from the army and the elite Counter Terrorism Service "have started the assault on the center of Al-Qaim," Staff Major General Noman Abed al-Zobai, the commander of the 7th Division, told AFP from the scene.

Shortly afterwards, another officer said the town's Gaza district had fallen from terrorist hands.

Iraqi forces launched the operation last week to seize Al-Qaim and its surroundings, a pocket of barren desert along the Euphrates river near the border with Syria.

Home to around 150,000 people, it is one of the last remaining territories in the country still held by ISIS militants after rampaging across Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Welcoming the offensive, the US-led coalition has said around 1,500 terrorists are estimated to remain in the area, which it expects to be the scene of the "last big fight" against the extremist group in Iraq.

“ISIS members have to choose between death and surrender," Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement announcing the offensive last week.

ISIS is also under pressure from separate offensives by Syrian regime and US-backed forces in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor that lies on the other side of the border.

Syrian regime forces said Friday they have liberated the eastern city of Deir Ezzor from ISIS.

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Hemedti Issues Strict Orders to his Forces to Protect Sudanese People

People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Hemedti Issues Strict Orders to his Forces to Protect Sudanese People

People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
People collect clean water provided by a charity organization to people in Gedaref in eastern Sudan on August 30, 2024. (AFP)

Commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, issued on Saturday strict orders to his forces to protect civilians and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid in line with the commitments his delegation made at the recent peace talks in Geneva.

In a post on the X platform, he said he issued an “extraordinary administrative order to all the forces” to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

He called on all commanders to abide by the orders in line with international humanitarian law. Any violators will be held accountable.

The RSF has been accused of widespread violations against civilians in areas under their control. They have also been accused of committing massacres in Gezira state in central Sudan. The RSF have denied the accusations.

Hemedti announced in August the formation of a “civilian protection force” that immediately assumed its duties in the Khartoum and Gezira states.

According to head of the RSF delegation to the Geneva talks, Omar Hamdan, the force is formed of 27 combat vehicles, backed by forces that have experience in cracking down on insubordination.

Hemedti stressed last week his commitment to all the outcomes of the Geneva talks, starting with ensuring the delivery of aid to those in need.

The RSF and army agreed to open two safe routes for the deliveries and to protect civilians to ease their suffering after nearly a year and a half of war.

The mediators in Geneva received commitments from the RSF that it would order the fighters against committing any violations against civilians in areas under their control.

Meanwhile, aid deliveries continued through the Adre border crossing with Chad. They are headed to people in Darfur in western Sudan.

Fifty-nine aid trucks carrying aid supplies crossed from Chad to Darfur, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Saturday.

“The supplies are estimated to reach nearly 195,000 people in acute need in different parts of the country,” it added.

“About 128 aid trucks carrying supplies for an estimated 355,000 people are being prepared to cross into Sudan in the coming days and weeks to ensure a steady flow of supplies. Despite the surge of supplies through Adre, humanitarian partners have warned that ongoing rains and floods have damaged three major bridges in the region, limiting movements within Darfur,” it revealed.

“While progress has been made on the Adre border crossing, funding resources are depleting, and humanitarian funding is urgently required to sustain the supplies chain,” it urged.