Syrian rebel fighters have accused the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group of taking more than 2,000 people hostage, and using them as human shields, as they retreated from the northern city of Manbij.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance consisting of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said on Friday they were in control of most of the city, held by ISIL, also known as ISIS, since 2014.
SDF spokesperson Sharfan Darwish said in a statement released on Facebook that rebel fighters had "regained control over most of the city" while "clashes in several areas" continued as clearing operations were under way to flush out the last ISIL remnants.
"While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighbourhood," Darwish told the AFP news agency, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.
"They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting them," he said, adding that women and children were among those taken.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitoring group that records daily developments in Syria, said on Friday that around 500 cars had left Manbij carrying ISIL members and civilians, heading northeast towards Jarablus, a town under the control of the armed group on the Turkish border.
Al Jazeera's Reza Sayah, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish side of the Syria-Turkey border, said the loss of Manbij "appears to be a major setback for ISIL and a major achievement for all the forces battling the group in Syria."
Sayah said there were "conflicting reports" about the recapturing of Manbij from ISIL.
"There are reports that perhaps there was an agreement between the SDF and ISIL, allowing them to leave without any attacks," he said.
"There are also more troubling reports that as they were leaving, ISIL took with them civilians, using them as human shields" so as not to be attacked.
"That is perhaps an explanation of why there was no fighting as ISIL fighters [?] and their supporters left," Sayah said...
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
12/8/16
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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance consisting of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said on Friday they were in control of most of the city, held by ISIL, also known as ISIS, since 2014.
SDF spokesperson Sharfan Darwish said in a statement released on Facebook that rebel fighters had "regained control over most of the city" while "clashes in several areas" continued as clearing operations were under way to flush out the last ISIL remnants.
"While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighbourhood," Darwish told the AFP news agency, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.
"They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting them," he said, adding that women and children were among those taken.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitoring group that records daily developments in Syria, said on Friday that around 500 cars had left Manbij carrying ISIL members and civilians, heading northeast towards Jarablus, a town under the control of the armed group on the Turkish border.
Al Jazeera's Reza Sayah, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish side of the Syria-Turkey border, said the loss of Manbij "appears to be a major setback for ISIL and a major achievement for all the forces battling the group in Syria."
Sayah said there were "conflicting reports" about the recapturing of Manbij from ISIL.
"There are reports that perhaps there was an agreement between the SDF and ISIL, allowing them to leave without any attacks," he said.
"There are also more troubling reports that as they were leaving, ISIL took with them civilians, using them as human shields" so as not to be attacked.
"That is perhaps an explanation of why there was no fighting as ISIL fighters [?] and their supporters left," Sayah said...
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
12/8/16
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Related:
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Syrie: 56 civils tués dans des raids de la coalition menée par Washington
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Kurdish and Arab fighters say they have liberated the north Syrian town of Manbij from so-called Islamic State, cutting off its route to Europe...
ReplyDeleteThe coalition of militias fought 73 days to drive out IS and say they freed 2,000 civilians being used as human shields on the final day.
IS captured Manbij, close to the Turkish border, two years ago.
Roads to Syria's embattled second city, Aleppo, and to the IS capital, Raqqa, pass through the town.
"After the liberation of Manbij, IS members won't be able to freely travel to and from Europe anymore," said Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim....BBC