US-backed Syrian forces say assault on Raqqa will begin ‘in days’

The Syrian Democratic Forces have surrounded ISIL's self-styled capital on three sides.

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters patrol the northern Syrian town of Tabqa, a key objective in their advance on the ISIL-held city of Raqqa. Syrian Democratic Forces via AP / April 30, 2017

BEIRUT // US-backed Syrian forces made new progress against ISIL militants along the southern bank of the Euphrates River on Saturday as the coalition positions itself to launch a decisive bid for Raqqa, the self-styled capital of the militants’ so-called “caliphate.”

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said they were in control of 90 per cent of the town of Mansoura, approximately 26 kilometres south-west of Raqqa. Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the SDF’s Wrath of the Euphrates operation, said the battle to capture Raqqa would begin “in days”.

Talal Sello, also of the SDF, said all major routes into the city have been severed and the attack would be launched from the north, west and east of Raqqa.

“The SDF has already completed the siege from the northern and eastern sides and is working to complete the siege from the west,” he said.

The Britain-based war monitoring service, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the SDF had been engaged in fierce fighting with ISIL militants along the southern bank of the Euphrates River, capturing Mansoura and the adjacent Baath Dam. The river leads to Raqqa and operations were underway to clear the area of mines and remaining militants.

Already, the forces have reached the northern and eastern gates of Raqqa, which lies on the north bank of the river. On Wednesday, ISIL’s Amaq news agency reported the coalition had destroyed Raqqa’s main telecommunication’s centre.

The campaign has led to wide-scale displacement around Raqqa province, according to the UN, and conditions are deteriorating inside the provincial capital.

There are also reports of mounting civilian casualties and conflicting numbers, which are difficult to confirm.

In May alone, nearly 95,000 residents fled their homes or shelters because of violence in Raqqa province, according to the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR. But others have returned to their homes as the SDF captures ground from ISIL..

“The offensive on Raqqa has intensified over recent days, when more than 100 air and artillery strikes were reported to have caused many civilian casualties,” the UNHCR said in agency said in a June 1 report.

On March 21, an air raid flattened a school in Mansoura. Local monitoring groups said at least 33 civilians taking shelter inside had been killed.

US Lt Gen Stephen Townsend acknowledged days later that coalition aircraft had bombed the school but said preliminary intelligence indicated the victims were ISIL militants occupying the building, not refugees.

Roadblocks and damage to bridges and infrastructure has driven up the prices of fuel and basic foodstuffs inside Raqqa, compounding the hardship endured by those living iunder extremist rule. inside the city.

The US has backed the SDF with weapons, air power, and ground support in its campaign to defeat ISIL in northern Syria. In late May, the US began arming the fighters under a new order from the Trump administration – much to the dismay of Turkey, which has branded the factions receiving the weapons as terrorists affiliated with the Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.

On Saturday, a convoy of armoured vehicles and lorries transporting bulldozers and other machinery was seen passing through Ain Issa, a key staging ground for SDF operations.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse