US-backed Syrian militias prioritize clearing Raqqa of landmines

BEIRUT. KAZINFORM The civilian council of Raqqa, created by United States-backed Syrian militias, is giving priority to removing landmines left behind by the Islamic State terror organization in the Syrian city, a key member of the council told EFE on Friday.

Omar Alloush explained that removing landmines would be the priority as soon as the council officially assumed the management of Raqqa city, which has now been completely brought under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led ethnically-mixed militia.

"The Syrian city is destroyed; not completely, but the damage is high. The main danger is the mines because families will not be able to return until they are cleared," said Alloush.

 

The member of the council added that once the removal of mines was completed, the next step was to clear the roads so that people can come back in an organized way without fearing explosions.

SDF militias estimate that 20 percent of Raqqa's buildings have been completely destroyed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has raised the percentage to 80; another NGO group said it was 90 percent.

 

It is expected that later on Friday, the SDF will officially proclaim the liberation of Raqqa and hand over authority to the civilian council to manage the Syrian city from now on.

On the other hand, an official from that council's information office revealed that this week, Saudi Minister of State for Arab Gulf Affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan, visited Raqqa along with the US special envoy for the US-led international coalition, Brett McGurk.

 

The official added that al-Sabhan and McGurk discussed with the council the plans to reconstruct the war-ravaged Syrian city.