HAWI AL-HAWA, Syria: As fighters from Daesh retreat into a shrinking part of Syria’s Raqqa, they are dragging along terrified civilians for cover against a ferocious US-backed onslaught.
Locals who managed to flee describe being herded into apartments in buildings used by terrorists as makeshift military bases, and serving as human shields for fighters as they collect water.
Civilians say the tactic — used elsewhere by the group to slow its opponents — is increasingly putting them in the cross hairs of US air power and allied fighters as they battle Daesh in densely populated districts near Raqqa’s center.
Raqqa resident Umm Alaa and her family were twice forced to provide cover to Daesh terrorists, she told AFP, hours after her escape from the city.
“Weeks ago, an Iraqi Daesh fighter came to our house in Al-Barid and told us it had become a military zone,” she said, sitting on a plastic chair outside a mosque in Hawi Al-Hawa, a western suburb of Raqqa controlled by the US-backed force.
Daesh moved her with her husband, their son Alaa and two-year-old grandson Hassan into a nearby building and refused their pleas to return home.
Three days later, terrorists displaced them again, this time to a damaged building with other families in the battle-ravaged district of Al-Badu.
“They were holding us as human shields. They were keeping us there to protect themselves,” said her husband Abu Alaa, a thick leather belt holding up the oversized trousers hanging off his bony frame.
“Daesh told us, ‘If you leave Raqqa, they are going to destroy the whole city over our heads,’” he said.
The whole family escaped on foot with other civilians on Friday, and like all the civilians who spoke to AFP, they refused to give their full names for fear of retribution against friends and relatives still stuck inside the city.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Raqqa in June, and has since captured around 90 percent of the city, with the help of heavy US-led airstrikes.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled, but with fighting and airstrikes concentrated on a shrinking Daesh-held section of the city, the exodus has slowed to a trickle.
As its options dwindle, terrorists are taking up positions inside residential buildings, said Mohannad, a fair-skinned woman with pale green eyes who also escaped Al-Badu with her four children.
“They tried to move into the basement or the first floor of our buildings because it protected them from airstrikes,” she told AFP.
Daesh fighters sought out apartments left behind by fleeing families, so Mohannad began putting out clothes and blankets on the balconies of empty ones to trick militants into thinking they were occupied.
She and her children were forced to move four times, and when they were moved into Al-Badu there was little to eat.
They were not allowed to leave except to draw water from nearby boreholes.
And even then, the trips were a way for Daesh fighters to move using civilian cover, said Umm Mohammad, a heavyset woman who also fled from Al-Badu.
“At the wells, Daesh would allow its fighters to fill up water first and made civilians wait for hours to protect them from airstrikes,” she said.
Her eldest son Mohammad, 19, would leave home at 4 a.m. to draw water from a nearby well and often not return for six hours.
“Days ago, he left but never came back. We learned there was an airstrike there. I couldn’t even find his sandals.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said a US-led strike killed 18 civilians gathered at a water well in Raqqa on Tuesday. AFP could not confirm if Mohammad was among them.
In late September, the coalition acknowledged the deaths of 735 civilians in its strikes on Syria and Iraq since 2014, but the Britain-based Observatory says hundreds have been killed in Raqqa alone since June.
Among them, said Umm Alaa, was her son, a pharmacist who was killed in a raid as he helped wounded civilians.
“To kill a single Daesh fighter, ten civilians are being killed,” Umm Alaa said, her voice cracking as she put black socks on the tiny feet of Alaa’s son, her grandson Hassan.
“They fire at each other and we’re in the middle.”
Coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon said Daesh was likely holding civilians hostage in positions including the national hospital in central Raqqa.
“The coalition takes extraordinary care in our planning and operations to ensure no harm is inflicted upon innocent civilians,” he told AFP.
But those precautions “are not sufficient,” said Nadim Houry, director of Human Rights Watch’s terrorism and counterterrorism program.
“Civilians could be saved. That may mean at times slowing down the operation, advancing more slowly, taking more precautions, maybe not using a massive bomb against a sniper,” he told AFP.
Houry said relying on drone footage to determine whether civilians were present before a strike was not enough precisely because they were trapped inside homes.
“The battle isn’t just about retaking a particular building or retaking square meters. Ultimately it’s about protecting civilians.”
Trapped in Raqqa, civilians become human shields for Daesh
Trapped in Raqqa, civilians become human shields for Daesh
UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza
- Reiterating charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, two independent UN rights experts said they were “horrified” by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital
- UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body
GENEVA: UN experts have denounced Israel’s raid on an embattled hospital in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the “blatant assault” on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Reiterating charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, two independent UN rights experts said they were “horrified” by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital.
“For well over a year into the genocide, Israel’s blatant assault on the right to health in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory is plumbing new depths of impunity,” the experts said.
The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on the right to health.
FASTFACT
The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on the right to health.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva dismissed the statement as “far removed from the truth,” saying it “completely ignores critical facts and the broader context of Hamas’s exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centers, something Hamas denies.
The military “undertook every effort to protect civilians,” the Israeli mission said, insisting its “actions highlight Israel’s commitment to international law and the protection of civilian infrastructure, even under the most challenging circumstances.”
Israel’s military said it had killed more than 20 suspected militants and detained more than 240, including the hospital’s director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, describing him as a suspected Hamas militant.
In their statement, Albanese and Mofokeng said they were “gravely concerned” at Safiyeh’s detention and demanded his “immediate release.”
“Yet another doctor to be harassed, kidnapped, and arbitrarily detained by the occupation forces,” they said.
“This is part of a pattern by Israel to continuously bombard, destroy, and fully annihilate the realization of the right to health in Gaza.”
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body.
The experts also highlighted “disturbing reports” that Israeli forces had allegedly carried out extrajudicial executions of some people near the hospitals, including a Palestinian man reportedly holding a white flag.
They pointed to figures provided by the Health Ministry in Gaza indicating that at least 1,057 Palestinian health and medical professionals have been killed since the war erupted following the Palestinian group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.
The World Health Organization has repeatedly denounced the high number of attacks on health care staff and facilities in the war: 1,273 attacks on health care in Gaza and the West Bank have been recorded since the start of the war.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X that the pace of desperately needed medical evacuations out of Gaza was “excruciatingly slow.”
“Only 5,383 patients have been evacuated with support from WHO since October 2023, of which only 436 since the Rafah crossing was closed” last May, he said.
He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza.
“At this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients, including thousands of children,” he added.
“In the meantime, their conditions get worse and some die.”
Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, in a phone call on Friday with Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed Al-Sharaa, discussed relations between the two countries, according to a statement from Mikati’s office posted on X, and said that he received an invitation from Sharaa to visit Syria to discuss common files.
Sharaa also affirmed that Syrian authorities took the necessary measures to restore calm on the border between the two countries, the post on X said.
Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan
DAMASCUS: The top diplomat in Syria’s new leadership said Friday he will make official visits to Qatar, the UAE and Jordan this week, having just been in Saudi Arabia on his first trip in office.
The new government is eager for foreign investment to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure and boost the economy, shattered by more than a decade of war.
“This week, I will represent my country, Syria, on an official visit to our brothers in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” its foreign minister Asaad Al-Shibani said in a statement on X.
“We look forward to these visits contributing to support stability, security, economic recovery, and building distinguished partnerships,” he added.
Earlier this week, Shaibani headed a high-ranking delegation to Riyadh that included the new government’s defense minister and intelligence chief.
It was the first foreign visit by Syria’s new rulers since they ousted president Bashar Assad last month.
Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing
- Interior minister defends additional security measures at airport and land crossing points
BEIRUT: A Lebanese army unit clashed with a group of armed Syrian nationals at the border on Friday as the soldiers attempted to “close an illegal crossing” in the Maarboun-Baalbek area of eastern Lebanon.
The Syrians were trying to forcibly reopen the crossing with a bulldozer, the army said. Soldiers fired warning shots into the air and Syrians responded by returning fire.
The “armed Syrians fired at the Lebanese soldiers, injuring one and sparking a clash between both sides,” the army command added. “Artillery shells were used” and other Lebanese army units in the area also responded with strict military measures, it added.
Subsequently, “reinforcements from the army’s mobile regiment arrived in the area, following the retreat of the armed Syrians, some of whom sustained injuries,” and the illegal crossing remained closed.
Maarboun is a town in Baalbek-Hermel governorate, and a natural crossing point between the two countries. However it is an illegal crossing mainly used by smugglers and human traffickers. The surrounding area is known to be pro-Hezbollah.
The incident at the illegal crossing coincided with the actions of Syrian authorities on Friday morning that prevented hundreds of Lebanese from crossing the border between Masnaa in Lebanon and Jdeidet Yabous in Syria.
The Syrians suddenly imposed new conditions on Lebanese visitors, including requirements that they have a hotel reservation and at least $2,000 in cash. People visiting Syria for surgery or other medical care must now have proof of an appointment and a Syrian sponsor who can confirm their identity. A valid residence permit for the stay in Syria is also required. Lebanese authorities imposed similar rules on Syrians entering Lebanon after the civil war in Syria began more than a decade ago.
Buses carrying Lebanese passengers who intended to visit Syria were forced turn back at the border as a result of the new Syrian rules.
Lebanon’s General Security Directorate decided to “prohibit any Lebanese from entering Syria through illegal crossings between both countries in Bekaa and the north, pending clarity during this stage,” a source from the agency said.
After the fall of President Bashar Assad and his regime in Syria in early December, the directorate held two meetings with officials from the new Syrian administration to discuss the regulation of movement between the two countries.
Though media delegations, politicians and civilians have crossed into Syria in recent days, Lebanese authorities have tightened security at land crossings, following similar actions at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut.
Normal operations at the airport resumed on Friday after an incident on Thursday night involving an aircraft belonging to Iranian airline Mahan Air. Airport security decided to conduct a thorough inspection of all passengers when the plane landed, including luggage belonging to diplomats on board. The diplomats protested and chose instead to leave their luggage at the airport. It was taken to a storage facility for inspection the following day using scanners.
Footage circulated on social media apparently showing young men on motorcycles heading to the airport to protest against the measures. It was believed the heightened security was motivated by concerns that passengers might be carrying money for delivery to Hezbollah. A second Iranian plane that landed on Friday faced similar security measures.
Lebanon’s interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, described the move as a routine procedure and added: “What the airport security is doing aims to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese people. We are enforcing the law, protecting the airport and safeguarding all of Lebanon because it cannot withstand any new aggression.”
The decision covered the inspection of all luggage, he said, including that carried by diplomats.
The heightened measures drew criticism from the vice president of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib. During his Friday sermon, he called on the interior minister “to demonstrate his heroism against the enemy, not against those who made sacrifices to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
Also on Friday, US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, head of the international committee monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, toured Khiam, where the Lebanese army was deployed after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. He was accompanied by Brig. Gen. Tony Faris, commander of the Lebanese army’s 7th Brigade.
Their visit came as Israel continued to face criticism for violating Lebanese sovereignty, including reconnaissance flights over southern Lebanon, extending as far as the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israeli forces were also accused of demolishing houses and roads in Dhayra and Jebbayn, and there were renewed warnings to residents of southern Lebanon not to return to homes in border areas until further notice.
There was a heavy presence of UN Interim Force in Lebanon forces along the Bayada-Naqoura road. The Lebanese army has placed concrete barriers on the road to Naqoura, preventing people other than UNIFIL personnel from entering. The UN force’s headquarters is located there.
The Lebanese army said it was surveying military remnants in Naqoura following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the town on Thursday. When this task is complete, Lebanese forces will be redeployed to the area, it added.
Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says
- Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks between Israel and Hamas
CAIRO: Hamas said a new round of indirect talks on a Gaza ceasefire resumed in Qatar’s Doha on Friday, stressing the group’s seriousness in seeking to reach a deal as soon as possible, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said.
The new talks will focus on agreeing on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, he added.
Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks between Israel and Hamas that have failed to end more than a year of devastating conflict in Gaza.
A key obstacle to a deal has been Israel’s reluctance to agree to a lasting ceasefire.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had authorized Israeli negotiators to continue talks in Doha.
In December, Qatar expressed optimism that “momentum” was returning to the talks following Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.
But a war of words then broke out with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” while Israel accused Hamas of creating “new obstacles” to a deal.
In its Friday statement, Hamas said it reaffirmed its “seriousness, positivity and commitment to reaching an agreement as soon as possible that meets the aspirations and goals of our steadfast and resilient people.
