first civilians return to raqa after mines cleared
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

First civilians return to Raqa after mines cleared

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleFirst civilians return to Raqa after mines cleared

A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces
Raqa - Muslimchronicle

Hundreds of civilians have returned to a battered district of Syria's Raqa in what a US-backed force said was the first wave of returns since it cleared explosives left by jihadists.

The Islamic State group lost control of Raqa -- once its primary Syrian bastion -- on October 17 after a months-long battle with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city during the offensive, reducing Raqa to a ghost town of collapsed buildings.

The SDF said in an online statement on Sunday that hundreds of families had returned to Al-Meshleb, Raqa's easternmost district.

"The SDF informed civilians from Al-Meshleb that they could return to their homes after mine-removal teams had finished clearing the entire neighbourhood of explosives left indiscriminately in civilian homes by IS," the force's press centre said.

It said the district was the first to which residents had returned since the city's "liberation from Daesh", an Arabic acronym for IS.

After capturing Raqa, the SDF sealed off the city to allow for mine removal operations in bombed-out neighbourhoods.

Residents often amassed at checkpoints in recent weeks, waiting for permission to access the city and see if their homes were still standing.

Some civilians who sneaked in were killed by unexploded ordnance.

Mine-clearing and reconstruction operations in Raqa are being coordinated by the Raqa Civil Council, a provisional local government body appointed by the SDF but based outside the city.

"Yes, residents of Al-Meshleb returned to their homes -- but the whole city hasn't been cleared of mines yet," senior council member Omar Alloush told AFP on Monday.

The deputy head of the council's reconstruction committee, Nazmi Mohammad, said the body had dispatched 10 bulldozers to Raqa to help clear rubble and blocked-off roads in Al-Meshleb.

After capturing Raqa in 2014, IS used the city as a hub for the administration of its self-styled "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria.

Following months of losses in the face of multiple offensives, touted IS fighters are now defending their last redoubts further down the Euphrates Valley.

More than 330,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests that were brutally suppressed.

source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

first civilians return to raqa after mines cleared first civilians return to raqa after mines cleared

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 06:29 2018 Sunday ,21 January

500 new trainees join US-backed Syria border force

GMT 10:31 2017 Sunday ,20 August

the history of solar eclipses

GMT 16:36 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Gulf Air launches Bahrain Tourist Visa Service

GMT 03:19 2012 Saturday ,15 September

FREEDOM

GMT 06:56 2014 Friday ,12 September

No winners in Gaza

GMT 22:30 2012 Monday ,16 July

Sudan ruling party says protests \'ridiculous\'

GMT 07:09 2012 Wednesday ,20 June

Sudan and South Sudan border tensions

GMT 12:02 2012 Tuesday ,17 April

What the Living Do

GMT 17:33 2017 Saturday ,25 March

Caceres recalled to Paraguay squad for Brazil clash

GMT 17:18 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

Bahrain weather forecast

GMT 09:35 2017 Sunday ,29 October

Actress Annabella Sciorra accuses Weinstein of rape

GMT 13:43 2017 Thursday ,16 November

People Magazine names Blake Shelton 'sexiest man alive'

GMT 18:10 2017 Monday ,17 April

GCC Secretary-General Condemns Syria Blast

GMT 13:15 2017 Wednesday ,15 February

Inherited the talent to draw on glass

GMT 14:35 2017 Saturday ,25 March

Dar Essalam to Host Two Golf Competitions

GMT 07:22 2016 Saturday ,09 July

Gunfire near presidential palace in South Sudan

GMT 10:42 2017 Wednesday ,16 August

Chinese teen Internet addict dies

GMT 13:51 2017 Thursday ,21 September

King Salman meets with former Turkish president

GMT 09:31 2017 Wednesday ,29 March

NPRA holds training course

GMT 08:18 2017 Thursday ,14 December

Twitter makes 'tweetstorms' easier

GMT 17:19 2012 Thursday ,12 January

New electric-car racing championships
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle