This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
On October 8, 2019, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sounded the alarm that an Islamic State (IS) resurgence is imminent if Turkey invades northern Syria.
The SDF, a Kurdish-led militia, has been instrumental in defeating IS in the region, but a Turkish invasion could reverse their gains and allow IS leaders to regroup.
According to the SDF, IS sleeper cells remain active in the region, and the group's ability to regroup would be facilitated by a Turkish invasion.
US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US forces from the region has been criticized for granting IS a 'gift of rebirth', with the US military warning that the group could soon regroup without sustained international pressure.
Abdulkarim Omar, the top Kurdish foreign affairs official, warned that hundreds of sleeper cells remain in recently liberated areas, and that the SDF lacks the resources to guard detention centres and prevent IS fighters from breaking free.
The SDF is concerned that IS could replenish its ranks by freeing thousands of fighters and their families held in detention centres and informal settlements in Syria's northeast.
IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has urged followers to free detained jihadists and family members held at camps in Iraq and Syria, vowing 'revenge' in an audio recording released on September 16.
Security incidents have been on the rise in the crowded Al-Hol displacement camp, which houses over 3,000 IS families among its 70,000 residents, with daily stabbings, killings, and attempts to break free reported.
