AhlulBayt News Agency - Radical group of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) is using civilians as human shields in Syria’s northeastern Raqqa province, in a bid to impede the ongoing progress by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), activists reported on Thursday.
Backed by the US-led coalition’s air cover, the SDF has been advancing against ISIS militants in the northern countryside of Raqqa province over the past few days.
“ISIS has forced hundreds of civilians to stay inside buildings in central Raqqa that used to be security centres for the radical group. Many people are locked inside those locations,” local sources reported in Raqqa, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several buildings of al-Hisba police and Sharia institutions have been filled with civilians in Raqqa city, according to media activist Salman al-Hamwi.
“The main goal is that the SDF-led shelling and US-led airstrikes kill as much civilians as possible. ISIS is trying to increase the civilian casualties to claim that the western-backed SDF are targeting peaceful people,” al-Hamwi reported Kurdish News.
Also, in the villages of Tal Shahin, al-Adriya and Mlehan north of Raqqa civilians were prevented from escaping their houses.
“Hundreds of villagers in Mlehan, Tal Shahin and al-Adriya are held hostage by ISIS militants, who are engaged in clashes with SDF forces in the vicinity of those villages,” said SDF officer Habun Osman on the phone.
“We are aware of such barbaric tactics by ISIS terrorists. We’re trying to avoid using heavy weapons at such fronts to prevent civilian casualties,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Kurdish-led SDF alliance recaptured four villages and towns in northern Raqqa–the de facto capital of the self-declared Islamic State militants. Subsequent to clashes with ISIS militant fighters, the SDF alliance liberated the villages of Qartaja, al-Fastah, Indebin and Matmasraja.
“The battle for northern Raqqa has started, and our advance will continue until we cleanse the entire province from ISIS,” Osman said.
/129
