Civilians rescued in Raqqa: ISIS was cruel, SDF saved us

The SDF’s operation to liberate Raqqa under the lead of YPG and YPJ continues in the city center.

SDF forces are working hard to rescue the countless civilians trapped in Raqqa. It gets harder to reach the civilians as most of them are hiding in basements. ISIS frequently uses these civilians as human shields, and many civilians attempting to leave are targeted by ISIS.

SDF forces have rescued thousands of civilians to date. Many civilians wounded by ISIS are brought to the field hospital to receive first treatment.

CIVILIANS TELL THEIR STORY

 

A civilian named Mahmud, who was rescued after his family was rescued first, spoke to ANF and told his story:

“My house is inside the city walls. The gangs came and forced us out of our homes. I went to check on my cousin at that time. They pointed a gun at me and asked me what I was doing there. They captured us, then tortured us. They took me and my family away. They told us we were on the YPG’s side. They asked us why we didn’t join them. I was silent out of fear, I couldn’t say anything. Then they left us by Suk Hal. They assassinated my cousin. They killed two more people there. There are still so many civilians in Raqqa. The area from the old Suk marketplace to Muatez street is filled with people. They survive on stale bread mostly. ISIS stockpiled food for themselves but they don’t give any to the people. We were waiting in our homes, praying for the fighters to come and save us at once. SDF fighters came and rescued us. They told us to walk in a single file so we wouldn’t be hit by bullets. Then they brought us to Mashlab. They treated us very well.”

Another civilian named Ali spoke about how the gangs fired mortars on them and how one person among them died. He said the husband of a woman who was with them was killed, and then the SDF fighters came and rescued them. 

The woman whose husband was killed by ISIS said: “I’m not happy I got out, because I left my husband behind. They killed him.”

The civilians were taken to safe zones by the fighters after their medical controls.