Safe passage of Raqqa civilians 'under discussion'
Safe passage of Raqqa civilians 'under discussion'
Raqqa's local government in exile says it is 'discussing' the safe passage of civilians from areas of the war-torn city still controlled by Islamic State group fighters.
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Around 8,000 civilians are thought to still be trapped inside Raqqa's IS-held areas [AFP]
Syrian tribal leaders and local officials are "discussing" the safe passage of civilians from areas of Raqqa that are still controlled by the Islamic State group, the US-led coalition in Syria said on Tuesday.
The IS group have lost around 90 percent of their territory in Raqqa to the Syrian Democratic Forces, an Arab and Kurdish militia backed aerially by the US-led coalition.
"The Raqqa Civil Council is leading discussions to determine the best way to enable civilians trapped by Daesh (IS) to exit the city, where some are being held as human shields by the terrorists," the coalition said in an emailed statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
"Those departing Raqqa who are found to have fought for Daesh will be turned over to local authorities to face justice."
While turning their attention to evacuations, officials from the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) – a government-in-exile based north of the city – insisted that the fight against IS will continue.
Its statement on the planned evacuations did not specify with whom the discussions were taking place.
"We have a responsibility to defeat Daesh (IS) while preserving civilian life to the greatest extent possible," said the coalition's director of operations Jonathan Braga in the statement.
"Make no mistake: a lot of hard fighting remains and we are committed to the lasting defeat of Daesh."
Since the IS group's capture of Raqqa in 2014, tens of thousands of civilians have fled the city.
According to the UN, some 8,000 people remain trapped in the city, where coalition-backed SDF fighters are pushing ahead against IS.
On Sunday, the Kurdish and Arab force closed off all media access to Raqqa.
Activist groups in the war-torn city said on Tuesday night that the discussions would allow IS fighters to withdraw from the city unarmed, but the SDF's press centre denied the reports.
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