AFP, Ain Issa :
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Sunday announced the “final phase” of the battle to capture Raqa, once the Syrian stronghold of the Islamic State group.
“We are now in the final phase of the battle for Raqa,” spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP, after the SDF announced its fighters had begun the operation to capture the last 10 percent of the city under IS control.
The militia, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said in a statement that the final phase of the fighting would “end the presence of the terrorist mercenaries inside the city.”
They said it came after a deal to “evacuate remaining civilians in the city and ensure the surrender of 275 local mercenaries and their families.”
“The battle… will continue until the entire city is cleared of terrorists who refuse to surrender, including foreign terrorists,” the SDF added.
Local officials have said they brokered a deal to allow some IS fighters to leave the city, though it remains unclear how many jihadists have left and to where.
The US-led coalition against IS reported a deal intended to “minimise civilian casualties” but has insisted it opposes any arrangement that would allow foreign jihadists to leave the city. Thousands of civilians were believed to remain trapped in the last parts of the city under IS control. Ahmed said Sunday that many had now escaped.
“There are very few left, and they are coming towards our forces at any chance they get,” she told AFP.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition and local officials said Saturday that Syrian Islamic State fighters and civilians will be allowed to evacuate Raqqa, a deal that signals the imminent capture of the city but flouts earlier U.S. protests of negotiating safe exits for the extremist group.
Foreign fighters will be excluded from the evacuation deal, the coalition said.
he U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said the final battle for Raqqa was underway, apparently propelled by negotiation efforts that secured the surrender and evacuation of dozens of Syrian militants still holed up in the city.
In a statement, the U.S.-led coalition said a convoy of vehicles was set to leave Raqqa following the deal brokered by a local council formed by their Kurdish allies and Arab tribal leaders.
The tribal leaders said they appealed to the coalition and the SDF to allow the evacuation of local Islamic State fighters to stem further violence.
“Because our aim is liberation not killing, we appealed to the SDF to arrange for the local fighters and secure their exit to outside of the city, with our guarantees,” the tribal leaders said in a statement.
It was not clear how many evacuees there were or where they would go, but the tribesmen said their evacuation would save the lives of civilians who the extremist fighters have used as human shields. Last week, there was an estimated 4,000 civilians still in the city.
With the push to liberate the Arab-majority Raqqa led by Kurdish-dominated forces, local officials fear a backlash once the city falls. The initiative appeared to be an attempt by local leaders to stem such tension.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the talks were bogged down over the fate of the foreign fighters there, which according to a local Kurdish commander include French, Russian, Azeri, Indonesian and Turkish combatants.
The U.S.-led coalition said it “was not involved in the discussions that led to the arrangement, but believes it will save innocent lives and allow Syrian Democratic Forces and the Coalition to focus on defeating Daesh terrorists in Raqqah with less risk of civilian casualties.” Daesh is an Arabic acronym for IS.
The evacuation deal places the U.S. in a bind as it had earlier said that only surrender, not a negotiated withdrawal for IS fighters in Raqqa, would be accepted. The top U.S. envoy for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, had previously stated that foreign fighters in Raqqa would die in the city. Omar Alloush, a senior member of the Raqqa Civil Council, said Friday around 100 militants had surrendered.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Sunday announced the “final phase” of the battle to capture Raqa, once the Syrian stronghold of the Islamic State group.
“We are now in the final phase of the battle for Raqa,” spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP, after the SDF announced its fighters had begun the operation to capture the last 10 percent of the city under IS control.
The militia, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said in a statement that the final phase of the fighting would “end the presence of the terrorist mercenaries inside the city.”
They said it came after a deal to “evacuate remaining civilians in the city and ensure the surrender of 275 local mercenaries and their families.”
“The battle… will continue until the entire city is cleared of terrorists who refuse to surrender, including foreign terrorists,” the SDF added.
Local officials have said they brokered a deal to allow some IS fighters to leave the city, though it remains unclear how many jihadists have left and to where.
The US-led coalition against IS reported a deal intended to “minimise civilian casualties” but has insisted it opposes any arrangement that would allow foreign jihadists to leave the city. Thousands of civilians were believed to remain trapped in the last parts of the city under IS control. Ahmed said Sunday that many had now escaped.
“There are very few left, and they are coming towards our forces at any chance they get,” she told AFP.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition and local officials said Saturday that Syrian Islamic State fighters and civilians will be allowed to evacuate Raqqa, a deal that signals the imminent capture of the city but flouts earlier U.S. protests of negotiating safe exits for the extremist group.
Foreign fighters will be excluded from the evacuation deal, the coalition said.
he U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said the final battle for Raqqa was underway, apparently propelled by negotiation efforts that secured the surrender and evacuation of dozens of Syrian militants still holed up in the city.
In a statement, the U.S.-led coalition said a convoy of vehicles was set to leave Raqqa following the deal brokered by a local council formed by their Kurdish allies and Arab tribal leaders.
The tribal leaders said they appealed to the coalition and the SDF to allow the evacuation of local Islamic State fighters to stem further violence.
“Because our aim is liberation not killing, we appealed to the SDF to arrange for the local fighters and secure their exit to outside of the city, with our guarantees,” the tribal leaders said in a statement.
It was not clear how many evacuees there were or where they would go, but the tribesmen said their evacuation would save the lives of civilians who the extremist fighters have used as human shields. Last week, there was an estimated 4,000 civilians still in the city.
With the push to liberate the Arab-majority Raqqa led by Kurdish-dominated forces, local officials fear a backlash once the city falls. The initiative appeared to be an attempt by local leaders to stem such tension.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the talks were bogged down over the fate of the foreign fighters there, which according to a local Kurdish commander include French, Russian, Azeri, Indonesian and Turkish combatants.
The U.S.-led coalition said it “was not involved in the discussions that led to the arrangement, but believes it will save innocent lives and allow Syrian Democratic Forces and the Coalition to focus on defeating Daesh terrorists in Raqqah with less risk of civilian casualties.” Daesh is an Arabic acronym for IS.
The evacuation deal places the U.S. in a bind as it had earlier said that only surrender, not a negotiated withdrawal for IS fighters in Raqqa, would be accepted. The top U.S. envoy for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, had previously stated that foreign fighters in Raqqa would die in the city. Omar Alloush, a senior member of the Raqqa Civil Council, said Friday around 100 militants had surrendered.
