Alwaght- UN warned that half of the estimated 20,000 people living in Syria’s ISIS-held city of Raqqa are children, as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), predominantly Kurdish militias, supported by Washington-led coalitions' airstrikes battle for the northern city's central districts.
Fran Equiza, an official with the UN children’s agency said Friday “I was completely overwhelmed,” Associated Press reported. “There are 10,000 children trapped in Raqqa in extremely dire conditions. No electricity, no water, probably very little food ... and the battle almost every day.”
Touching on the traumatizing experiences of displaced children from Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour both held by the ISIS, Equiza told AP “The level of suffering, losing friends, relatives, family of these children is absolutely staggering.”
The situation in Raqqa has voiced alarm bells for human rights group as more civilians suffer from both the terrorists and the US-led operation to free the city.
Last week the UN voiced “deep concerns” over the rising number of civilian casualties caused by US-led coalitions' airstrikes in Raqqa.
“In recent days and weeks scores of civilians have reportedly been killed and injured in Raqqa due to airstrikes and shelling,” Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN secretary general, told reporters on Tuesday as the toll of non-combatant deaths in the past week has passed 170.
US-backed SDF militias are bearing down on the city from all sides and as the fighting intensifies, thousands of civilians are trapped finding it almost impossible to escape the city, which is facing constant shelling by the US-led coalition and allied Syrian Democratic Forces.
Hundreds Killed due to US-led Coalitions Airstrikes
At least 725 civilians have been killed in coalition airstrikes since the offensive to retake Raqqa began June 6, according to Airwars, a London-based monitoring organization that works with local activists, human rights groups and the Pentagon.
“We had been flagging for months prior to the offensive that far more civilians were dying around Raqqa than we would have expected even a few months earlier,” said Chris Woods, the director of Airwars.
“Since the assault began, we have seen a casualty count that is relatively high compared to the rest of the coalition’s war against ISIS,” he said. “In Raqqa, this means high numbers of identifiable civilians, many of them women and children.”
Some 80 civilians killed only in 24 hours
The US-led international coalition killed 78 civilians after carrying out airstrikes against residential neighborhoods in Raqqa city during 24 hours.
Syria’s SANA news agency reported on Tuesday that coalition warplanes fired rockets at al-Sakhani and al-Bado alleys and al-Tawasuaeh neighborhood in Raqqa city that left 78 civilians dead and destroyed a number of residential buildings and infrastructure and caused material damage to the targeted areas.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International also blamed US-led coalition for killing hundreds of civilians in aerial campaign in Syria's Raqqa province.
The leading international human rights group criticized the US-led campaign for artillery and air strikes on areas containing civilians and asked for an end to attacks that risk being indiscriminate.
"Whether you live or die depends on luck because you don't know where the next shell will strike, so you don't know where to run,” former Raqqa resident Mohammed told Amnesty.
US-Led Coalition Committing War Crimes
Syrian Foreign Ministry addressed on Wednesday two letters to the UN Secretary General and President of the Security Council saying that warplanes of the so-called coalition continued to target Syrian civilians and destroy infrastructure.
The Syrian government also noted that, the US-led coalition continues to use internationally- banned white phosphorus bombs which constitutes a flagrant violation of the rules of the UN Charter and the international law.
"The warplanes of the US-led coalition added a new crime to their criminal record by targeting civilians and infrastructure in Syria on Tuesday 22nd of August through shelling the residential neighborhoods in Raqqa, claiming the lives of 78 civilians, injuring tens others, most of them were women and children and causing huge damage to the local and private properties,” the Ministry said in the letters.
"The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic calls on the Security Council to implement its resolutions on the fight against terrorism, especially resolution no.2253, and to immediately stop the crimes by the coalition against innocent civilians in Syria,” the Ministry added.
It went on to say that the government of Syria condemns those crimes perpetrated by the international coalition, adding that Syria reiterates its call on the states which carry out those crimes to withdraw from this “coalition.”
The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, with the government of President Bashar al Assad blaming some Western states, especially the US and their regional allies, including Saudi Arabia, of backing Takfiri terrorists wreaking havoc in the country.
