The Syria Democratic Forces control more than 60% of the former main stronghold of the “Islamic State” organization in Syria
About 2050 persons were killed including 800 civilians within 80 days of violent clashes and heavy shelling on al-Raqqa city
The ongoing military operation in the main stronghold of ISIS in Syria imposed the absence of calm and the presence of the sounds f explosions, bombings, shelling and the clashes in the city, which is witnessing since the 5th of June 2017 violent clashes between the SDF backed by the US Special Forces against members of ISIS in al-Raqqa city, and the clashes are concentrated in the old city, as the SDF managed to approach to the center of the city and encircle the center of the city of al-Raqqa from the eastern, northern and southern sides.
This advancement of the SDF and the decline of the organization in the city came with a cover and support of the International Coalition’s warplanes and the continued shelling of the “Euphrates Wrath” Operation forces on the organization-held areas in the city, in which tens of thousands of civilians still exist between the anvil of the organization and the hammer of the international coalition that killed hundreds of civilians and injured hundreds others, and caused material damage in the infrastructure, public facilities and the properties of the citizens. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the SDF managed, since the launch of th great battle of al-Raqqa on the 6th of June 2017 and until the 23rd of August, control an area of 60.1% of al-Raqqa city, which is estimated to be 17.6 square kilometers of the area of the city, while the organization controls about 39.9% of the area of the city, estimated at 11.7 square kilometers of the city of al-Raqqa, and the battles are ongoing in an attempt by the SDF to achieve an advancement in the city after controlling the whole neighborhoods of al-Sabahiya, al-Romania, Heteen, Qadisiyah, Yarmouk and al-Karim in the west of the city.
and the SDF completely controlled the neighborhoods of al-Mashlab, al-Batani, al-Sena’a in the east of the city, while they controlled the whole neighborhood of Hisham bin Abdul Malik and Nazlet Shehada in the southern part of the city and they controlled parts of the old city, and parts of the neighborhoods of al-Rawda, al-Rumeila, Hawd al-Furat Housing, Idekhar Housing and the northern parts of al-Daraia neighborhood, in addition to controlling the shrine of the Companion Ammar Ibn Yasser, and the shrine of the follower Owais al-Qurani.
This advancement coincided with violent and escalating pace of killing the Syrian civilians in al-Raqqa city, where at least 789 civilians including an activist of the Syrian Observatory for Human, 200 children and 123 women who were documented by the Syrian Observatory in al-Raqqa city and its countryside, since the 5th of June 2017 until the 23rd of August. The martyrs included 773 civilians, 119 women above the age of 18, who were killed in al-Raqqa city, in addition to 16 civilians including 3 children and 4 women who were killed in airstrikes in the village of Zur Shamar and another area at the southern banks of the Euphrates River in the eastern countryside of al-Raqqa. The aerial shelling left hundreds of the people injured of different severity, some of them had amputations and permanent disabilities, while some of them are still in serious conditions, which may increase the death toll, and dozens of houses and public facilities in the town have been destroyed, as a result of this intensive shelling, which targeted the city of al-Raqqa, its vicinity and its outskirts, while the SOHR received information about the presence of more civilians causalities which the SOHR couldn’t document.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the airstrikes of the international coalition’s warplanes and the intensive shelling on the city of Al-Raqqa and its outskirts, and the military operations that took place in the city which included bombings, explosions and clashes with the “Euphrates Wrath” Operation Forces, which are consisted of the Syria Democratic Forces and the Syrian Elite Forces and backed by the US special forces and the international coalition’s warplanes, since the beginning of the Grand Battle of al-Raqqa until today, the 23rd of August 2017 have killed at least 871 members of the “Islamic State” organization including local leaders and group leaders, and there is confirmed information about the death of other members, in addition to injuring tens of them with a different severity.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 386 fighters of the “Euphrates Wrath” Operation Forces, including 2 fighters of the Syrian Elite Forces and 4 fighters of the American, Georgian and British nationalities, while the others are fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces, whose main pillar is the YPG, and fighters of the Military Council of Manbij, who were killed in the bombings, shelling and clashes with the “Islamic State” organization in the city of al-Raqqa and at the southern banks of the Euphrates River.
The city of al-Raqqa is witnessing displacement and fleeing of the citizens from the areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization towards areas controlled by the Syria Democratic Forces, where tens of citizens managed to flee away from the shelling, the death and the clashes, while the massacres are coincided with the worsening humanitarian conditions of the civilians inside the areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization in al-Raqqa city, where the death is surprising those who try to escape themselves and their families to areas far beyond the inevitable death. This fear is accompanied by the fear of death in the city of Al-Raqqa, as there is a lack of many food supplies and much shortage in some of them, and reliable sources confirmed the absence of vegetables and fruits in the city market in addition to the significant shortage in medicines and drinking water and their surging prices. Thus, the civilians still residing in Al-Raqqa depend mainly on grains, rice and legumes which have been stored by the city citizens or the shops. The SOHR published last Thursday that hundreds of civilians managed to flee during the last 48 hours from the organization-held area in al-Raqqa city and reached the SDF-held areas in the city, its outskirts and vicinity.
Link of high resolution map shows the SDF control over more than 60% of al-Raqqa city
