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Leaders from a number of countries respond to the announcement by US-backed forces that they have captured the latest enclave held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) in Syria, thereby eliminating the group's so-called caliphate.
After weeks of fierce fighting and aerial bombardment, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) proclaimed Saturday the victory over ISIL, claiming they had chased the group's fighters from their last fiefdom. in the cityon the banks of the Euphrates.
"We are announcing today the destruction of the so-called organization of the Islamic State and the end of its earthly control in its last pocket in Baghouz," said Mazloum Abdi, SDF General Commander, said a victory ceremony.
The SDF is Washington's partner on the ground in Syria and has been spearheading the fight against ISIS for five years.
The announcement marked the end of a brutal caliphate to oneself that ISIL – originally an emanation of Al Qaeda – implanted in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Yet badysts say the capture of Baghouz is unlikely to mark the end of ISIL as a force in the region.
Here is the first regional and international reaction to the announcement of the fall of the last bastion of ISIL.
Kurds from Syria
The commander-in-chief of the Israeli security forces has asked the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to choose the path of dialogue after the military defeat of ISIL, announcing a "new phase" of the conflict.
"We call on the central government in Damascus to prefer the process of dialogue," Mazloum Kobane said in a statement.
He also called on Damascus to "take concrete steps to reach a political solution based on the recognition of the autonomous institutions and the special status of the SDF.
Commenting on the battle against ISIL, he said that a "new phase of the fight against terrorists" was starting, adding that the goal now was to eliminate the "dormant cells" of the group.
United States
A US-led coalition emissary and ISIL fighter hailed the disappearance of ISIL as a "crucial step."
"We congratulate the Syrian people and especially the Syrian democratic forces for the destruction of the Islamic State's fraudulent caliphate," said William Roebuck.
"While we have completed the Islamic State's territorial defeat in Syria and Iraq, we still have a long way to go to achieve a lasting defeat … The Islamic State remains a significant threat in the region , the United States and our partners and allies, "he added.
His remarks come a day after President Donald Trump declared that ISIL fighters no longer controlled any territory in Syria.
"This is ISIS on polling day," he said, linking the gains of the coalition since then to his presidency. He pointed to a strip of red indicating the previous territorial hold of the group, then another without red: "Here is ISIS at the moment."
la France
President Emmanuel Macron said that a source of potential violence had been "eliminated" but warned that "the threat remains and that the fight against terrorist groups must continue".
"The Syrian Democratic Forces have announced that the last bastion of Daesh has fallen, and I pay tribute to our partners and to the armies of the international coalition, of which France is a part," Macron said on Twitter.
"They fought the terrorists with determination for our security".
United Kingdom
Prime Minister Theresa May called the fall of the bastion "a history milestone "in the fight against ISIL, and stated that the British government remained" determined to eradicate their toxic ideology ".
"The release of the last Daesh-controlled territory would not have been possible without the tremendous courage of the British Army and our allies," she said on Twitter, using the news. group acronym in Arabic.
"We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our allies and our partners from the threat of Daesh."
Britain said its armed forces numbered nearly 1,400 people in the area providing support to local forces, in addition to numerous air attacks by the Royal Air Force.
The British army also helped train Iraqi security forces.
Germany
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described the end of the caliphate as a "milestone".
He warned, however, that it was "clear" that ISIL "continues to pose a significant threat."
"We will not underestimate this threat," he said.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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