After wresting control of more than 60% of Al-Raqqah City … the SDF advance into the city center from another point

Al-Raqqah Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: violent clashes continue between the Syria Democratic Forces backed by the US Special Forces on one hand and ISIS on the other in areas in the neighborhoods of the Old City and in the vicinity of the city center. The SOHR learned that the SDF launched a new attack aiming at advancing and taking control of more areas in order to minimize the scope of ISIS control which now amounts to only 39% of the area of Al-Raqqah, which used to be its main stronghold and capital in Syria. Reliable sources confirmed to the SOHR that the SDF managed today, Sunday the 27th of August 2017, to advance into the south of Nazlet Shehada neighborhood and took control of the southern section of Al-Morour “Al-Haramiyah” neighborhood, in the city center. Such violent clashes were accompanied by intensive shelling by the “Euphrates Wrath” Operation Forces and by the International Coalition warplanes on areas in the city. Information was reported that such clashes left tens of fighters of both parties dead and injured.

The SOHR published 3 days ago that the SDF managed, since the launch of the great battle of Al-Raqqah on the 6th of June 2017 until the 23rd of August, to take control of 60.1% of the area of Al-Raqqag city, which is estimated at 17.6 square kilometers of the area of the city. ISIS, on the other hand, continue to control about 39.9% of the area of the city, estimated at 11.7 square kilometers of Al-Raqqah city. Meanwhile, battles continue in an attempt by the SDF to advance more into the city after having fully controlled the neighborhoods of Al-Sabahiya, Al-Romania, Heteen, Qadisiyah, Yarmouk and Al-Karim, west of the city. The SDF also took full control of the neighborhoods of Al-Mashlab, Al-Batani, Al-Sena’a, east of the city, in addition to the neighborhoods of Hisham bin Abdul Malik and Nazlet Shehada in the southern part of the city. They also seized control of huge 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 taking control of the shrine of the Prophet Companion Ammar Ibn Yasser, and the shrine of the Prophet Follower Owais al-Qurani.

The city of Al-Raqqah is also witnessing a massive displacement from ISIS-controlled areas towards SDF-controlled areas. Tens of families 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, civilians still residing in Al-Raqqah depend mainly on grains, rice and legumes, which have been stored by the city citizens or the shops.