BEIRUT: US-backed fighters on Tuesday reached the northern entrance of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Daesh, amid intense clashes and airstrikes on Raqqa’s northern and eastern edges, opposition activists said.
The latest push by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) brings them to about 3 km from the city where a long and deadly battle is expected in the coming weeks, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The latest push comes as airstrikes have intensified in recent days. US-backed fighters have pushed in toward the city, getting closer from all sides. The SDF have captured dozens of towns and villages since November, when the group began an operation entitled Euphrates Wrath, aiming to eventually surround and capture Raqqa.
SDF fighters have surrounded Raqqa from the north, west and east. The extremists still have an exit from the south, even though the US-led coalition destroyed southern two bridges over the Euphrates River.
The Observatory said SDF fighters captured gas and water facilities on the northern edge of Raqqa. The group posted a video showing Daesh black flags still flying over the northern entrance of Raqqa with a giant Daesh banner reading “the northern sector thanks you for your visit. The Islamic State.”
The activist-operated Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said that the US-led coalition targeted areas of fighting north of the city near a major Daesh base known as Division 17.
The Sound and Picture Organization, which documents Daesh violations, said SDF fighters approached the Mashlab neighborhood east of Raqqa. The RBSS said SDF fighters captured a checkpoint at the entrance of Mashlab but did not enter the area.
The Observatory and RBSS reported that a landmine exploded near a vehicle west of the city killing three people and wounding 10.
Earlier Tuesday, Syria’s state media and the Observatory said at least 13 civilians were killed when Daesh militants shelled regime-held neighborhoods in the eastern city of Deir Ez-Zor.
US-backed Syrian fighters reach Raqqa gates
US-backed Syrian fighters reach Raqqa gates
Family of Palestinian-American shot dead by Israeli settler demand accountability
- Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community
LONDON: The family of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank have demanded accountability, amid mounting scrutiny over a surge in settler violence and a lack of prosecutions.
Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was killed near the city of Ramallah on Wednesday, becoming at least the sixth American citizen to die in incidents involving Israeli settlers or soldiers in the territory in the past two years.
Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community. Witnesses said that stones were thrown by both sides before settlers opened fire, wounding at least three villagers.
Abu Siyam was struck and later died of his injuries.
Abdulhamid Siyam, the victim’s cousin, said the killing reflected a wider pattern of impunity.
“A young man of 19 shot and killed in cold blood, and no responsibility,” he told the BBC. “Impunity completely.”
The US State Department said that it was aware of the death of a US citizen and was “carefully monitoring the situation,” while the Trump administration said that it stood ready to provide consular assistance.
The Israeli embassy in Washington said the incident was under review and that an operational inquiry “must be completed as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said troops were deployed to the scene and used “riot dispersal means to restore order,” adding that no IDF gunfire was reported.
The military confirmed that the incident remained under review and said that a continued presence would be maintained in the area to prevent further unrest.
Palestinians and human rights organizations say such reviews rarely lead to criminal accountability, arguing that Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers accused of violence.
A US embassy spokesperson later said that Washington “condemns this violence,” as international concern continues to grow over conditions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to investigate or prosecute settlers accused of violence against civilians.
Those concerns were echoed this week by the UN, which warned that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank may amount to ethnic cleansing.
A UN human rights office report on Thursday said that Israeli settlement expansion, settler attacks and military operations have increasingly displaced Palestinian communities, with dozens of villages reportedly emptied since the start of the Gaza war.
The report also criticized Israeli military tactics in the northern West Bank, saying that they resembled warfare and led to mass displacement, while noting abuses by Palestinian security forces, including the use of unnecessary lethal force and the intimidation of critics.
Neither Israel’s foreign ministry nor the Palestinian Authority has commented on the findings.
