ISIL’s assault on Deir Ezzor leaves residents fearing ‘massacres’

DAMASCUS // ISIL’s deadly assault on Deir Ezzor has allowed the extremists to tighten their siege on the eastern Syrian city.

Fierce clashes rocked the city’s northern edges after a multi- front offensive on Saturday that killed dozens of people.

ISIL militants overran Al Baghaliyeh, one of the last areas on the city’s outskirts, known for the production of food.

The extremists now control 60 per cent of Deir Ezzor city, intensifying a siege that had caused fear and hardship for the 200,000 people inside.

Seventy per cent of the city’s remaining residents are women and children, according to the United Nations.

“People are afraid, the situation is very difficult,” said Attiyeh, a resident.

“Food and vegetables are rare, and we’re starting to have problems with bread,” he added.

“If the city falls there will be a massacre,” he said, referring to reports circulated by state media that ISIL fighters had killed 300 civilians.

On Saturday, ISIL launched an offensive on Deir Ezzor, with dozens of its fighters carrying out suicide bomb attacks.

The attack and fighting killed at least 120 government forces, many of whom were murdered by ISIL, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

The group also said 70 ISIL fighters were killed, with the militants seizing territory inside and outside of the city’s northwestern tip.

In addition, the Britain-based monitor said the militants had killed 85 civilians and kidnapped 400 more.

But the Observatory said ISIL released 270 of the abducted civilians on Tuesday, including women, children under 14 years old, and the elderly. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the observatory, said they were freed after questioning by militants to determine whether they had ties to Syria’s regime.

“They will not go back into Deir Ezzor city, but will be spread out among local tribes in the province,” Mr Abdel Rahman said.

ISIL is holding 130 civilians, mostly teenage and adult males, for questioning, he said.

Ghaleb Al Haj Hamdo, 23, said he could hear clashes nearby.

“I am afraid of a massacre that will repeat itself if Daesh invades our neighbourhood,” Mr Hamdo said.

Residents limited their activities around the city at night, said the university student, who lives in central Al Joura district.

The ISIL advance is the latest encroachment on the city, where the government has clung to several neighbourhoods and the nearby military airport despite ISIL control of the rest of the oil-rich province.

Since last year, ISIL has blocked access to most of the city, leading to “a severe shortage of food, medicine, and basic commodities”, the UN said.

Its offensive “is putting thousands in the line of fire”, said Linda Tom of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.