Deadly Labyrinth : UN calls for pause in Raqqa offensive to spare civilians

The United Nations called Thursday for a humanitarian pause to allow an estimated 20,000 trapped civilians to escape the Syrian city of Raqqa, and urged the US-led coalition to rein in air strikes that have caused casualties.


The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by US-led coalition warplanes, entered the city in June and have captured nearly 60 percent of it from the Islamic State (IS) group.

But the fighting has proved increasingly bloody for civilians still trapped in Raqqa, with one monitor reporting 167 civilians have been killed in coalition strikes in and around the city since August 14.

"Boats on the Euphrates must not be attacked, people who come out cannot risk air raids when they come out," Jan Egeland, the UN's humanitarian adviser on Syria, told reporters in Geneva.

"So now is the time to think of possibilities, pauses or otherwise that might facilitate the escape of civilians, knowing that Islamic State fighters are doing their absolute best to keep them in place," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Amnesty International warned that civilians fleeing the battle faced a “deadly labyrinth”, coming under fire from all sides.
 (FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
 24/8/17
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***Voilà l'homme tout entier, s'en prenant à sa chaussure alors que c'est son pied le coupable. Ca devient inquiétant. Un des larrons fut sauvé. C'est un pourcentage honnête.