Concerns raised as raids on IS escalate
Iraq's counter-terrorism service (CTS) reach al-Sejar village in Iraq's Anbar province on the boundaries of Fallujah on May 28, 2016 as they take part in a major assault to retake the city of Fallujah from the Islamic State (IS) group. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
Around 165,000 displaced Syrians were trapped between the closed Turkish border and the northern town of Azaz, the UN said, after IS launched a lightning advance in Aleppo province.
Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by the US-led coalition pressed an offensive against the jihadists north of their de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.
Raqa city is home to an estimated 300,000 people who are increasingly desperate, according to activists.
BAGHDAD, Saturday
International concern mounted for civilians caught up in fighting in Syria and Iraq as US-backed forces pressed simultaneous offensives against the Islamic State jihadist group.
Around 165,000 displaced Syrians were trapped between the closed Turkish border and the northern town of Azaz, the UN said, after IS launched a lightning advance in Aleppo province.
Further east, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by the US-led coalition pressed an offensive against the jihadists north of their de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.
The city is home to an estimated 300,000 people who are increasingly desperate, according to activists.
In neighbouring Iraq, an estimated 50,000 civilians remain trapped in Fallujah after the military launched an offensive to retake the city from IS.
Iraq Prime Minister Haider al Abadi has vowed to recapture the city.
The UN refugee agency said it was deeply concerned about the plight of around 165,000 displaced people massing near the Syrian town of Azaz.
“People have started to flee due to heavy fighting in northern Aleppo. Civilians are being caught in cross-fire and are facing challenges to access medical services, food, water and safety,” it said.
More than 280,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria’s war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Peace talks aimed at ending the conflict stalled last month over the opposition’s frustration at escalating violence and lack of humanitarian access.
A leading opposition group, the National Coalition, on Saturday called on the international community to ensure the urgent and immediate protection of civilians in areas under attack by IS and the regime.
In northern Aleppo, heavy fighting between IS and rebels gripped the outskirts of the opposition-held town of Marea, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an activist said, besieging around 15,000 residents.
IS swept through rebel-held territory in Aleppo on Friday in a shock offensive, cutting off the road between Marea and Azaz.
