Syria: UN calls for humanitarian pause in Raqqa August 24 /update 1

Event

On Thursday, August 24, the UN called for a humanitarian pause to coalition airstrikes against Islamic State (IS)-held positions in Raqqa to allow civilians to flee the city. According to Amnesty International, US-led airstrikes and shelling by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have led to hundreds of civilian casualties. Furthermore, the humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by IS’ common tactic of using civilians as human shields. Reports say the battle for Raqqa is entering its final stages, with IS holding only the city center.

Context

On June 6, a spokesman for the SDF announced that forces had begun the offensive in Raqqa, the de facto IS capital and the group’s last major stronghold.

The SDF is a collection of armed groups backed by the US military. Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units) forces account for approximately 70-75 percent of the SDF, with the remaining 20-25 percent coming from Arab militias and a few thousand fighters from other minority ethnic group militias. The YPG has been the most effective local fighting force against IS due to extensive combat experience and preference for fighting IS rather than the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, with most Sunni Arab opposition groups preferring to fight Assad rather than IS.

The YPG's involvement in the coalition and the related provision of armaments to the group by the US has angered Turkey, a US ally and a primary actor in the anti-IS coalition. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish group that has fought an insurgency against the Turkish government since 1984. This has seriously complicated plans for governing Raqqa once IS is expelled and raises questions concerning the prospects for a long-term political settlement for ending the Syrian civil war.

Syria remains enmeshed in a complex civil war that initially broke out between President Al-Assad's government and opposition forces in March 2011. The conflict has since grown to involve not only the Syrian government, but the Iranian government, the Turkish government, the Russian government, the US-backed coalition, and numerous armed opposition groups with competing goals.

Advice

Due to extremely poor security conditions, Western governments generally advise against all travel to Syria, with some countries banning all travel to the country. Professional security advice and support should be sought prior to any travel to the country.