UN urges pause to air strikes so civilians can escape Raqqa

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The United Nations on Thursday called on the US-led coalition to pause air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria to give civilians a chance to escape.

There are an estimated 20,000 people trapped inside Raqqa, IS’ last remaining stronghold and de facto capital in Syria.

The UN call comes amid reports of high civilian casualties as a result of the coalition’s aerial campaign.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, UN humanitarian advisor on Syria Jan Egeland said the US-led coalition must “do whatever is possible to make it possible for people to escape Raqqa.”

“Boats on the Euphrates must not be attacked, people who come out cannot risk air raids when and where they come out,” he continued.

“Now is the time to think of possibilities, pauses or otherwise that might facilitate the escape of civilians,” Egeland added.

According to members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), extremists will walk with a child in hand to avoid being targeted by air strikes on their supply routes.

“[IS] fighters are doing their absolute best to use [civilians] as human shields,” the UN advisor said.

While the coalition has not yet published the number of civilian casualties in Raqqa due to air strikes, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve’s commander, acknowledged the Pentagon was aware of the reports.

“It is probably logical to assume that there have been some increases in civilian casualties because our operations have increased in intensity there,” he said at a news conference in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Monitoring groups say they’ve documented over 150 civilian deaths from air strikes in Raqqa since Aug. 14, underscoring the challenges as IS militants continue to use civilians as human shields.

Editing by Ava Homa