ConflictBarometer_2015

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
In February, an YPG spokesperson stated that the group had
reinforced troops in the Kurdish areas with 50,000 fighters.
The group continued to recapture surrounding territory. By
February 9, YPG had taken more than 120 villages. On June
16, YPG took control of the border town Tell Abyad, cutting
a supply line from Turkey to IS' proclaimed capital. On July
1, YPG backed by US airstrikes regained full control of Tell
Abyad, resulting in the deaths of four IS fighters. Due to
the fighting, 26,000 people fled to Turkey. On July 27, YPG
captured the town of Sarrin from IS, cutting off the supply
lines along highway M4 between Aleppo and ar-Raqqa.
IS was also active in al-Hasakah governorate and the eponymous
city. There, YPG launched a major military offensive on
February 25, severing an IS supply line near the Iraqi border.
Backed up by US airstrikes, the Kurdish fighters seized 70
villages in the governorate. In total, 132 people were killed
during the offensive. Furthermore, IS abducted at least 90
Assyrian Christians and forced hundreds to flee. On February
26, US airstrikes targeted IS fighters near the town of Tell
Tamr, where IS had seized ten Assyrian villages. At least
35 IS fighters as well as 25 YPG members and Christian
militias were killed in the fight for the villages. Around 3,000
people were displaced. The next day, YPG announced the
capture of Tell Hamis. During the offensive, YPG backed
by the US-led coalition took at least 103 villages, leaving
175 IS members dead. IS had previously raided Assyrian
Christian villages, abducting at least 200 people. On April
11, IS launched an attack against YPG in the towns of Tell
Tamr and Tell Hamis. The fighting left at least 41 IS and ten
YPG fighters dead. By mid-July, YPG roughly controlled about
two-thirds of al-Hasakah city, with the remainder split between
the Syrian government and IS. On September 14, two
car bombs targeting Kurdish fighters and government forces
in different areas exploded in al-Hasakah, leaving at least
26 dead and dozens wounded. On October 12, YPG, Arab
militias and Assyrian fighters jointly announced the creation
of the Democratic Forces of Syria (DFS) consisting of approx.
40,000 fighters. One month later, DFS captured the town of
al-Houl after a two-week-long offensive. On December 11,
IS attacked YPG-held Tell Tamr with three suicide car bombs,
leaving 60 civilians dead. After six weeks of fighting, the DFS
advanced towards Tishreen Dam on December 24, seizing
several villages such as Sahareej, Obeidat, and al-Manseeh.
In Deir ez-Zor governorate, government forces conducted
airstrikes on IS-held areas, whereas IS attacked the military
airport and western neighborhoods of Deir ez-Zor city, the
last remaining government-controlled areas. IS employed
suicide vehicles, artillery, and mortars. For instance, between
May 22 and 25, the government targeted IS-held areas in
eastern Deir ez-Zor with barrel bombs, leaving over 40 civilians
dead. Meanwhile, IS executed 34 civilians they accused
of apostasy and collaboration with the government. On
September 10, IS seized a small base close to the military
airport after sending two suicide vehicles. In subsequent
clashes, 30 IS fighters and 20 government forces were killed.
In Homs governorate, clashes between IS and government
forces intensified in mid-May after IS had advanced towards
the ancient city of Palmyra. After days of fighting, IS seized
the city on May 20. At least 123 soldiers, 115 IS fighters, and
57 civilians were killed during the fights. In the following
months, IS destroyed large parts of the heritage sites at
Palmyra.
In Damascus governorate, IS repeatedly clashed with other
armed groups in the refugee camp Yarmouk which hosted
18,000 Palestinians. On March 31, the Palestinian militant
group Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis called for the arrest of all IS fighters
in Yarmouk after the latter had allegedly assassinated the
leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Subsequently,
IS staged attacks on the group in Yarmouk camp starting on
April 1, whereby several al-Maqdis fighters were killed or
kidnapped. Supported by Jabhat al-Nusra fighters, IS had
seized most of Yarmouk district by April 4. Meanwhile, the
army conducted airstrikes on the camp.
Moreover, throughout the year, government forces clashed
with IS in al-Qadam district, south of Damascus. For instance,
on December 10, IS attacked two government headquarters,
killing 20 soldiers and forcing the military to withdraw. In late
December, IS evacuated its southern Damascus stronghold
after the group had reached an agreement with the government
to retreat to ar-Raqqa. (yal, kwi)
IRAQ
In January, IS held about a third of the territory of Iraq, including
parts of the governorates of al-Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk,
Nineveh, and Salahuddin. The group, supported by several
Sunni tribes, fought against the Kurdish Regional Government
(KRG), Peshmerga forces, and the Iraqi government,
supported by Shiite militias, Sunni tribesmen, Iran, and the
US-led coalition. According to the UN, the violence had
caused 12,740 fatalities, including 7,515 civilians, by the end
of the year and 3,962,142 IDPs by the end of June.
Al-Anbar, Iraq's geographically largest governorate and predominantly
populated by Sunnis, was largely controlled by
IS. On February 27, IS militants seized a strategic bridge
between the cities of al-Baghdadi and al-Haditha, killing 20
soldiers of the Iraqi Armed Forces (IAF). In early April, IS
militants executed 300 members of Sunni tribes in al-Anbar.
In reaction, government forces supported by the Sunni fighters
launched an offensive on IS-held Al-Karmah on April 14.
Twelve days later, Iraqi forces expelled IS from parts of the
city. At least 650 IS militants were killed. On May 14, ten IS
suicide bombers destroyed the main gate to the provincial
capital of Ramadi. During the following three days, IS seized
the entire city despite airstrikes carried out by the US-led
coalition. At least 500 people were killed and the IAF fled
the city. On December 23, the IAF launched an offensive
to retake Ramadi. Six days later, the army controlled the
city center, while a few hundred IS militants remained in the
eastern parts of the town. The conflict caused at least 1,177
civilian fatalities and 3,526 injured in al-Anbar.
Throughout the year, IS fighters carried out daily bomb attacks
in the capital Baghdad, Baghdad governorate, concentrating
on predominantly Shia parts of town such as Sadr City. Over
the course of the year, the attacks resulted in approx. 3,630
civilian fatalities and 9,270 injured. Seven bomb blasts in
or nearby the city on February 25 left 37 people dead and
dozens injured. A refrigerator truck packed with explosives
planted by IS detonated at a food market in Sadr City on
August 13. At least 76 people were killed and at least 212
injured.
IAF and allies expelled IS from the predominantly Shiite
populated Diyala Governorate bordering Iran. Throughout
the year, the group continued to carry out several suicide
bombings in Diyala. On January 23, IAF attacked several
villages near the city of Muqdadiyah, the only remaining
inhabited area of the governorate controlled by IS. After
three days of fighting, the military had seized control of the
area. A total of 58 pro-government forces and approx. 50
IS militants were killed and 248 injured. On July 17, an
IS suicide bomber killed 120 people and injured 130 on
a market in the predominantly Shia town Khan Bani Saad
during Eid al-Fitr celebrations. It was one of the deadliest
183