25,000 civilians trapped in territory held by terror group: UN
GENEVA: Territory still controlled by Daesh in Raqqa is “the worst place” in Syria, the UN said on Thursday, as fresh reports emerged of more civilians killed by US-led coalition airstrikes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 21 children were among at least 59 civilians killed since Monday in the airstrikes aimed at dislodging the terrorists from Raqqa.
“The worst place probably today in Syria is the part of Raqqa that is still held by the so-called Islamic State (Daesh),” the UN’s humanitarian pointman for Syria, Jan Egeland, told reporters in Geneva.
The UN estimates there are up to 25,000 civilians trapped inside Raqqa, the terrorist group’s erstwhile de facto Syrian capital.
“They are encircled by the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) fighters and they are used seemingly as human shields” by Daesh, Egeland added, noting the “constant air raids” by the US-led coalition.
“We are therefore urging the coalition, the SDF whom we can deal with to allow as much as they can people to escape,” the UN official added.
The SDF, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by the multinational coalition, was on Thursday battling the terrorists in Raqqa’s Old City, of which it now controls 70 percent, according to the Britainbased Observatory.
The SDF also fought Daesh in the western district of Al-Dariya and the northwestern neighborhood of Al-Barid, as well as on the outskirts of the central district of Al-Murur, it said.
The coalition has repeatedly stressed it takes every precaution to avoid civilian casualties. But it has recognized 624 such deaths in its airstrikes since 2014.
The SDF launched an operation to capture Raqqa province from Daesh last year, and in June the alliance broke into Raqqa city for the first time.
It now holds more than half of the city, but the fighting has proved fierce and civilians have been killed both in the crossfire and while trying to flee.
Humanitarian workers believe “the situation couldn’t be worse for these women, children (and) civilians who are now in this crossfire,” said Egeland.
Talal Silo, SDF spokesman, told Reuters that the US military will remain in northern Syria long after Daesh is defeated, predicting enduring ties with the Kurdish-dominated region.
Strategic interest
The SDF believes the US has a “strategic interest” in staying on, said Silo.
“They have a strategy policy for decades to come. There will be military, economic and political agreements in the long term between the leadership of the northern areas (of Syria) ... and the US administration,” Silo said.
The US-led coalition against Daesh has deployed forces at several locations in northern Syria, including an air base near the town of Kobani.
Asked about long-term strategy, Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the coalition, referred Reuters to the Pentagon. He said there was “still a lot of fighting to do, even after ISIS (Daesh) has been defeated in Raqqa.”
Daesh remained in strongholds along the Euphrates River Valley, he added, in a reference to its stronghold in Deir Al-Zor province southeast of Raqqa.
“Our mission ... is to defeat ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and to set conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability,” Dillon said.
Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said in Washington: “The Department of Defense does not discuss timelines for future operations. However, we remain committed to the destruction of ISIS and preventing its return.”