U.S.-backed Syria forces link up in Raqqa assault
Development marks milestone in battle to oust Islamic State.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters advancing on the Islamic State from the eastern and western parts of the northern city of Raqqa have linked up for the first time since launching their offen- sive on the militants’ de facto capital, officials said Friday.
Though the development marked a significant milestone in the battle for the stronghold, a U.S. military spokesman cautioned that there is still tough fight- ing ahead before Raqqa is reclaimed.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, under
the cover of U.S.-backed coa- lition airstrikes, launcheda wide offensive to capture the city June 6 and have managed so far to take about half the city.
The linkup of the eastern and western fronts deprives the Islamic State of access to the Euphrates River — and effectively leaves the remain- ing militants in Raqqa and thousands of civilians sur- rounded.
“The fighting is ongoing from room to room and from house to house,” said Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media center, adding that the key difficulty facing the advancing fighters is to avoid striking civilians used as human shields.
The top U.S. envoy for the international coalition against the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, tweeted about the linkup of the two fronts, describing it as a “milestone” that is tightening the noose around the Islamic State.
Also Friday, neighboring Turkey introduced new regulations at a border crossing with northwestern Syria, allowing only the transport of humanitarian aid, after an al-Qaida-linked group took control of the Syrian post.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after Friday prayers in Istanbul that the Cilvegozu crossing in south- ern Turkey would remain open for shipment of food, medicine and some supplies. It stands across from the Syrian Bab al-Hawa crossing.
The al-Qaida-linked militant group Levant Liberation Committee captured the crossing after battles with the ultraconservative Syrian rebel Ahrar al-Sham group last month.
Erdogan s aid Turkey “cannot allow the passage of weapons,” suggesting humanitarian aid has “practically turned into an armament process.”
Meanwhile, the U.N. migration agency said Friday that over 600,000 displaced Syrians had returned to their homes this year, though it warned that the situation remains “not sustainable.”
International Organization for Migration spokeswoman Olivia Headon said the 602,759 returns between January and July was on track to surpass the figure of 685,000 returns for all of 2016.
But she also cautioned about the huge number of displaced Syrians this year — nearly 809,000.
IOM said that its partner agencies have found that two-thirds of the returnees have gone to the northern Aleppo governorate, where government forces ousted rebels from the city of Aleppo last year.
A third of the returnees said they went back to “protect their assets” while one-quarter cited “improved economic conditions,” IOM said.