27 civilians more dead in Al-Raqqah city … One week of escalated shelling by the International Coalition on the city leaves 125 fatalities

Al-Raqqah Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the number of fatalities continues to increase in Al-Raqqah city as a result of the continued shelling by the International Coalition warplanes on ISIS-controlled areas there. The SOHR documented yesterday, the 20th of August, the death of at least 27 civilians, including 7 children below the age of 18 and 6 women above the age of 18, as a result of raids carried out by the International Coalition warplanes on Harat Al-Badw area and on other areas in its vicinity in the city. Thus, the death toll documented by the SOHR since the afternoon of Monday, the 14th of August, until today the 21st of August, increased to 125, including 40 children below the age of 18 and 25 women above the age of 18. The death toll is also still likely to rise because some of the injured are in a critical condition and some are still missing, whether they were killed or are still alive is unknown.

Such an increase in the number of martyrs also comes as a result of the violent clashes taking place in Al-Raqqah city between the Syria Democratic Forces backed by the US Special Forces on one hand and ISIS on the other in many fronts in the Old City and in the vicinity of neighborhoods located at the city center. Reliable sources informed the SOHR that the SDF are facing troubles making new advances towards the city center as a result of the large number of landmines planted by ISIS in the areas along with the counter attacks carried out by it using booby-trapped vehicles and suicide bombers. Clashes during the last hours of the past night left at least 13 members of ISIS and about 5 SDF members dead. Clashes are also accompanied by an exchange of targeting between both parties. The city of Al-Raqqah is also witnessing a massive displacement from ISIS-controlled areas towards SDF-controlled areas. Tens of civilians managed to flee to areas far from shelling, killings and clashes. Such massacres only add to the deteriorating humanitarian situation of civilians in ISIS-controlled areas in Al-Raqqah city, where death became inevitable awaiting even those who try to flee along with their families to areas far from the doomed city. Such fear of death was also accompanied by the lack of a lot of food items and significant decrease in others. Reliable sources confirmed the absence of vegetables and fruits in the city market for weeks in addition to the significant shortage in medicines and drinking water and their surging prices. Thus, the civilians still residing in Al-Raqqah depend mainly on grains, rice and legumes, which have been stored by the city citizens or the shops. The SOHR published on Tuesday that hundreds of civilians managed to flee ISIS-controlled areas in Al-Raqqah city to SDF-controlled areas in the city, its outskirts and surroundings.