IS between fighting or surrendering, Erdogan's comrades are uncomfortable to country's situation

NEWS DESK

On Thursday morning, the Arab newspapers touched upon the recent situations in al-Baguz and the campaign to eradicate IS, in addition to the American position in Syria.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat: The division of IS' elements in the last pocket between fighting or surrendering.

IS elements who are being besieged in the last pocket in east Syria are divided between those who want to fight to death in defense of IS' areas, and others who tend to choose to surrender, or the attempt to flee an anonymous fate.

The Syrian Democratic Forces claim to have hundreds of fighters trapped in a half square kilometer inside the town of al-Baguz, along with large numbers of civilians, despite the evacuation of more than 9,000 people within a week, mostly from jihadist families.

A week ago, the Syrian Democratic Forces evacuated four batches of al-Baguz, mostly women and children from IS' families. Commander in the ranks of SDF say that they are waiting for the end of the evacuation process in order to launch an attack on the besieged pocket in case the remained fighters do not surrender."

Al-Arab: The ambiguity of American intentions in Syria is confusing the allies and enraging Russia

For its part, al-Arab newspaper referred to the American intentions and the positions of the parties involved in Syria. And it said, "IS nears the total defeat in its last pocket in the east of Syria, and this proposes questions about the status of East Euphrates, Idlib governorate and the buffer zone project, especially that the American intentions do not seem clear even for the allies that have been waiting for explanations from Trump's administration about the force that would maintain in this country, and the steps that would follow it."

The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that his country was waiting for more information on the troops that the United States would keep before Paris would take a new resolution on Syria.

Both Russia and Syria announced their opposition to the move, demanding all US troops' departure. Moscow and Damascus said in a joint statement on Wednesday, "We call on the United States which has military units on the Syrian territories illegally to depart the country."

On the other hand, the Turkish position is also ambiguous amid leaks of the progress in the Turkish-US negotiations that were made during the Defense Minister Hulusi Akar's recent visit to Washington on the buffer zone planned by the United States to implement east of the Euphrates.

AL-Sharq-al-Awsat: Violent conflict between Erdogan and his comrades

On the Turkish issue, al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper said, "The political and media circles in Turkey are preoccupied with the intensification of the conflict between the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his comrades in the Justice and Development Party (AKP), especially after the leak of information about the intention of former commands in the party; Abdullah Gul and former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to establish a new bloc for their dissatisfaction with the situation in the country. With the approach of local elections scheduled for March 31, a wide debate erupted in the political trenches because of reports of the willingness of Gul and Ahmet Davutoğlu, and other former leaders to establish a party, including the former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Ali Baba Jan who also served as foreign minister before disappearing from the political scene in 2013 that is attributed to the large boom in the Turkish economy between 2002 to 2013, and the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mohammad Shimshk who completed his career that was also removed from the scene after the last parliamentary and presidential elections in June."

(T/S)

ANHA