AFP
Beirut: Islamic State (IS) group fighters seized around 2,000 civilians to use as “human shields” yesterday as they fled their stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, US-backed forces and a monitor said. The abductions came as Russian and Syrian jets pounded rebel positions in second city Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Right said. The Arab-Kurdish alliance known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled most IS fighters from Manbij last week, but dozens continued to put up a tough resistance.
Yesterday, they withdrew from a district in northern Manbij heading for the IS-held town of Jarabalus along the border with Turkey, taking the captives. “They took the civilians from Al Sirb neighbourhood,” said Sherfan Darwish, spokesman for Manbij Military Council, a key component of the SDF.
“They used the civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabalus, preventing us from targeting them,” he said, adding the captives included women and children.
The Britain-based observatory , which relies on sources on the ground to cover the conflict, also said IS had abducted around 2,000 civilians. It said IS confiscated residents’ cars, forced civilians into them and then headed for Jarabalus.
The observatory said that 15 civilians were killed in Syrian and Russian air raids on rebel positions in the divided city of Aleppo.
Turkey, meanwhile, vowed to cooperate with Syrian ally Iran to try to resolve the conflict in which Ankara backs rebels battling the government of Al Assad.
AFP
Beirut: Islamic State (IS) group fighters seized around 2,000 civilians to use as “human shields” yesterday as they fled their stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, US-backed forces and a monitor said. The abductions came as Russian and Syrian jets pounded rebel positions in second city Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Right said. The Arab-Kurdish alliance known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled most IS fighters from Manbij last week, but dozens continued to put up a tough resistance.
Yesterday, they withdrew from a district in northern Manbij heading for the IS-held town of Jarabalus along the border with Turkey, taking the captives. “They took the civilians from Al Sirb neighbourhood,” said Sherfan Darwish, spokesman for Manbij Military Council, a key component of the SDF.
“They used the civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabalus, preventing us from targeting them,” he said, adding the captives included women and children.
The Britain-based observatory , which relies on sources on the ground to cover the conflict, also said IS had abducted around 2,000 civilians. It said IS confiscated residents’ cars, forced civilians into them and then headed for Jarabalus.
The observatory said that 15 civilians were killed in Syrian and Russian air raids on rebel positions in the divided city of Aleppo.
Turkey, meanwhile, vowed to cooperate with Syrian ally Iran to try to resolve the conflict in which Ankara backs rebels battling the government of Al Assad.
