MOSUL: Iraqi government forces paused in their push to recapture western Mosul from Daesh militants on Saturday because of the high rate of civilian casualties, a security forces spokesman said.
The halt was called as the UN expressed its “profound” concern over reports of an incident during the battle on March 17 that killed or wounded dozens of people in the Daesh-held Al-Jadidah district of Mosul, apparently involving airstrikes by Iraqi or US-led coalition forces.
Reports have indicated that the airstrikes have killed more than 100 civilians.
“We are stunned by this terrible loss of life,” Lise Grande, the humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement.
Civil defense officials and residents have said many people lay buried in collapsed buildings after airstrikes against Daesh insurgents triggered an explosion.
The exact cause of the collapses was not clear but a local lawmaker and two residents said the airstrikes may have detonated a Daesh truck filled with explosives, destroying buildings in the heavily-populated area.
Reports on the numbers of civilian casualties have varied but Civil Defense chief Brig. Mohammed Al-Jawari told reporters that rescue teams had recovered 40 bodies from collapsed buildings.
In an e-mailed statement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) to Arab News, the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said an initial review of airstrikes from March 16 to 23 indicates that the US-led coalition struck fighters and equipment of ISIS (Daesh) west of Mosul at the request of Iraqi security forces.
“The CJTF-OIR takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment has been opened to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties.
It added: “The coalition respects human life, which is why we are assisting our Iraqi partner forces in their effort to liberate their lands from ISIS (Daesh) brutality. Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of Daesh’s inhuman tactics terrorizing civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighborhoods.”
Salim Al-Jabouri, Iraq’s Parliament speaker, in tweets on his official account, said: “We realize the huge responsibility the liberating forces shoulder” and call on them to “spare no effort to save the civilians.”
Anti-Daesh strikes kill over 100 civilians in Iraq
Anti-Daesh strikes kill over 100 civilians in Iraq
First responders enter devastated Aleppo neighborhood after days of deadly fighting
- The US-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Daesh group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria’s national army
ALEPPO, Syria: First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The US-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Daesh group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria’s national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid Al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
