After 20 days of protests and tension, residents arrive to the first neighborhood to be controlled by the SDF in Al-Raqqa city within the Grand Battle of Al-Raqqa
Al-Raqqa province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:: several reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that hundreds of civilians began to return back to Al-Mashlab neighborhood in the eastern side of Al-Raqqa city, after the de-mining and combing operation was finished, 20 days following the tensions between the people of the neighborhoods and the SDF forces on the return on the displaced to their houses.
The SOHR published on the 26th of October that tensions and resentment continue to escalate among of Al-Raqqah city’s people, who have not yet been able to return to their homes in the city, which was controlled by the Syria Democratic Forces completely on the 17th of October 2017, and this discontent came as a result of the breaking up a demonstration by the residents of Al-Mashlab neighbourhood in the eastern part of Al-Raqqah city, where they demanded that they return to their homes, but they were shot by members of the Syria Democratic forces which wounded some of them.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights looked into the causes and developments of this incident, and monitored and documented what happened over the past 24 hours, where a prominent commander in the SDF Council confirmed that the demonstration was carried out by residents of al-Mashlab neighbourhood and that shooting took place in order to prevent the citizens from approaching the neighbourhood and keeping them away of it, which injured 4 persons at least by shrapnel of the gunshots, also the leader confirmed that what happened on Thursday the 26th of October in Al-Mashlab neighbourhood will not happen again, and the shooters will be held accountable, where verbal altercation took place between the members and the demonstrators and evolved into a shooting, and its shrapnel injured the demonstrators, and the citizens will be allowed to return to their homes once the process of dismantling the mines in their neighborhoods and within the city is completed.
The leading source confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that Al-Raqqah City Construction Council was unable to roam in al-Mashlab neighborhood and other parts of Al-Raqqah city during the 48 the hour of time, to see the reality of the destruction in it and the framework mechanism within the city for its reconstruction; until one of the demining teams explored the road ahead of them, also formed body “the government” which is tasked with managing Al-Raqqah city, has not been able to start its work so far, because of the density of planted mines within al-Mashlab neighborhood, where the headquarters of this body “the government” will be al-Mashlab neighborhood.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that demining teams of the Syria Democratic Forces and teams of the International Coalition and western parties have stopped their work in the city temporary, following the injury of foreign members of the mine engineering teams and the death of other members as a result of mine explosions, the sources told the observatory that they stop mine sweeping and dismantling in order to search for a different method to remove them, in a way that does not inflict casualties in their ranks in Al-Raqqah city, where Al-Raqqah city is witnessing a destruction of more than 80% of its area, which witnessed battles and violent clashes between the Syria Democratic Forces and the International Coalition against the “Islamic State” organization, and lasted from the 6th of June 2017 until the 17th of October 2017, the date of the exit of the last batch of members of the “Islamic State” organization from the city, also the organization had intensively planted miners in the city and its outskirts.