Raqqa residents trapped by militants ahead of assault

BEIRUT: As US-backed forces bear down on the de facto capital of Daesh, the militants have taken their strategy of hiding behind civilians further than ever before, effectively using the entire population of Raqqa as human shields.

A belt of land mines and checkpoints has been laid on roads in and out of the northern Syrian city to prevent escape. All men have been ordered to wear the jihadis’ garb of baggy pants and long shirts, making it difficult to distinguish militants from civilians.

Hundreds if not thousands of Syrians who fled other parts of the country now live in tents in the streets, vulnerable to warplanes or ground fighting. Enormous tarps have been stretched for blocks in the city center to hide the militants’ movements from spy planes and satellites.

The estimated 300,000 people trapped inside live in terrifying uncertainty over how to find safety. Airstrikes by the US-led coalition shake the city almost daily, mainly hitting northern neighborhoods, amid reports of civilians killed by strikes in the nearby countryside. Leaflets dropped by coalition warplanes give confusing directions — one suggests areas closer to the Euphrates River are safer, but then another warns that boats crossing the river will be struck.

Mass panic erupted Sunday, when Daesh announced on mosque loudspeakers that US strikes had hit a dam to the west.