Operation Featherweight: Week 2, Day 2.

Yesterday (15/8/14) the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously passed resolution 2170(2014) on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al-Nusra Front (ANF) which can be read here; http://www.scribd.com/doc/236839692/Draft-UN-Security-Council-Resolution

Citing specifically their conduct in the Syrian provinces of Ar-Raqqah, Deir ez-Zor, Aleppo and Idlib and the Iraqi provinces of Tamim, Salaheddine and Niniveh the resolution deplores and strongly condemns both ISIL and ANF. It goes on to warn that the behaviour of these groups including extermination (genocide), ethnic cleansing and inhuman treatment could well constitute crimes against humanity but falls short of referring the matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) who ultimately make that decision. 

The resolution then goes on to effectively tear up resolution 2165 (2014) which attempted to prevent the Syrian government from blocking the supply of ISIL and ANF by calling on all UN member states to do everything in their power to block the flow of money, equipment and fighters to Syria and Iraq. 

Crucially this resolution is a Chapter 7 resolution which authorises the use of military force unless both ISIL and ANF immediately disarm and disband.

In a series of annexes the resolution also details six individuals who have been placed under sanctions because they have been supplying ISIL or ANF with  money and other forms of material support. This list gives us an interesting glimpse into the workings of two groups that are supposedly made up of poor, downtrodden civilians that were being so horrifically oppressed they had no option other then to take up arms first against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad and then the Iraqi government of Nouri al-Malaki. They are as follows;

• Abd Al-Rahman Muhammad Zafir Al-Dubaysi Al-Juhni - A Saudi Arabian national who was born in Kharj, Saudi Arabia in December 1971. He is identified as an ANF commander who specialises in bringing in other foreign fighters.

• Abdul Mohsen Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Sharikh - A Saudi Arabian national who was born in Saqra, Saudi Arabia in July 1985. He is a regional leader of ANF who specialises in financing.

• Yaser Khalaf Nazzal Alrawi - An Iraqi national who was born in Binnish, Syria sometime in 1977. He is the main spokesman for ISIL.

• Hijaj Fahid Hijaj Muhammad Sahib al-Ajmi - A Kuwaiti national who was born somewhere in Kuwait in August 1987. He is a financier for ANF.

• Hamid al-Ali - A Kuwaiti national who was born in either Kuwait or Qatar in November 1960. He is a financier and recruiter for ISIL who specialises in bringing in other foreign fighters.

• Said Mohamed Arif - An Algerian national who was born in Oran, Algeria in December 1965. A veteran Jihadi fighter who was a member of the "Chechen Network" in France in 2006 he is now a member of ANF.

Meanwhile on the ground in Iraq the situation on Mount Sinjar remains largely unchanged with in excess of 5000 people trapped. Both the US and the UK have continued to make deliveries of humanitarian aid but as yet there is no plan to rescue them. Presumably the next step is that either the aid deliveries stop so they will die or the deliveries are expanded to include building materials so the trapped people can build a village and make the mountain their new home.

It almost goes without saying that with no-one acting to stop them ISIL continue to advance across large swathes of Iraq. In Anbar province they are gradually building up forces in and around Jurf Al Sakhar, Abu Ghraib and Baqubah. It is rumoured that from there they will dig Syria/Hamas-style tunnels in Shia neighbourhoods of the capital Baghdad to carry out bombings and raids. The threat is being taken so seriously the London Times newspaper today ran a front page spread claiming that the US is preparing the launch air-strikes to defend Baghdad. The purpose of the article seems to be to raise the question of whether Obama would act to defend Baghdad because he seems very opposed to taking any military action at the moment.

In Nineveh province ISIL yesterday over-ran the village of Kawju which is close to the Sinjar mountains. Again they gave the predominately Yazadi residents the usual ultimatum of convert, leave or die. The male heads of 80 households were killed and at least 100 women plus their children (up to 300 people) were taken from the village either to be kept as slaves or simply executed elsewhere. As usual US forces who are active in the area did nothing to intervene.

The US did though find time to make carry out its scheduled daily air-strike. While details are yet to be confirmed it appears that US F-18 jets have today carried out at least one air-strike close to Mosul dam although it seems that the description of the area is being "pounded" is a wild exaggaration .

Yesterday US drones carried out two strikes close to the Sinjar mountains. As drones are lightly armed we are still waiting for the US to confirm the specific ISIL commanders they were targeting and whether those drone strikes succeed in killing those ISIL commanders.

15:40 on 16/8/14 (UK date).