http://www.arabnews.com/node/1007786/middle-east
The Kurdish-led Syrian fighters clashed on Monday with Daesh militants north of Raqqa as they pushed ahead in their offensive aiming to retake the city that has been the de facto capital of the extremist group since 2014.
Members of a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) have been on the offensive in the area since late Saturday, aiming to initially isolate and encircle Raqqa. The US, France and Britain said they would provide air support for the offensive, which was announced at a news conference on Sunday in Ein Issa, north of Raqqa.
But the announcement lacked details on how the SDF, dominated by Kurds, plans to oust the militants from the city.
The battle of Raqqa could be long and costly; Daesh fighters are expected to fight until the end since its loss could be an existential threat. It would mean the extremist group would have no full control of any large cities in Syria, just as Iraqi forces are pushing forward against Daesh-held Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
Earlier this year, it took SDF fighters more than two months to capture the Syrian town of Manbij, which is far smaller than Raqqa.
Raqqa has been under Daesh control since early 2014; it is home to some of the group’s top leaders and is seen as the key to defeating the group militarily.
It has been the extremists’ de facto capital since they declared a caliphate in areas they control in Iraq and Syria in June 2014.
The US commander of coalition forces fighting the Daesh group said the operation to take Raqqa aims at eventually cutting off the extremists from Mosul, where US-backed Iraqi forces have entered the city’s eastern outskirts amid fierce resistance.
The US-backed Syria Democratic Forces, which include Arab and Turkmen fighters, have driven Daesh from large swaths of territory, but Turkey views the Syrian Kurds who dominate the group as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast.
“The campaign will continue to be in that form until it enters the city,” Ahmed told The Associated Press. She said the Kurdish-led SDF, as the main force on the ground, is best placed to decide what forces are needed to liberate the city.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he hoped the US would keep its promise to rein in the Kurdish forces, but noted that Washington had also pledged earlier that the Syrian Kurds would withdraw from the town of Manbij, which has not yet happened.
Cavusoglu said the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, told Turkish officials during a recent visit that the Syrian Kurdish fighters would only have a role in encircling Raqqa and would not enter the city.
“We hope that this will be the case and we expect that our partners keep their promises,” Cavusoglu said.
“We still have weeks to the Raqqa operation,” Cavusoglu said.
“Our advice is for the local forces to be supported by our special forces.”
He suggested that residents of Raqqa, a mainly Sunni Arab city, would not welcome Kurdish forces, saying: “We should not force the people to choose between two evils.”