Baladi News – (Abdul Kader Mohammad)
Since the start of an aggressive offense against Raqqa by Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the international coalition forces six months ago, hundreds of civilians have fled the city
Baladi News met displaced families to give an account of their sufferings while searching for a safe haven.
Abu Hassan, the head of a family that left for Aleppo countryside, said “After four hours of search for a safe route, we managed to flee the city, because ISIS militants had mined the city completely.”
“We headed towards Ayn Issa town, and then towards Manbij, where we were held for two days, during which all our identification documents were taken by SDF. They said they wanted to make sure that nobody has ties with ISIS, but it turned out that they wanted to receive aid from humanitarian organizations using our names. After that, we went to the Free Syrian Army areas, and it costed us in total USD 300 a person.”
It is noteworthy that Raqqa city is the main stronghold of ISIS in Syria. It has undergone airstrikes by the international coalition amid much talk about a major battle by several parties to drive ISIS out.