Brett McGurk, special US presidential envoy, met with Raqqa Civil Council leadership.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Top coalition officials visited northern Syria on Wednesday, meeting with military and civilian leaders in Raqqa.
Brett McGurk, special US presidential envoy to the global anti-ISIS coalition, and British Maj. Gen. Rupert Jones, coalition deputy commander, met with commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the leadership of the Raqqa Civil Council in Ain Issa, 50 km north of Raqqa city.
In an interview with Jenan Moussa of Arabic Al Aan TV, McGurk said he was in Syria to get a sense of the military and humanitarian situation on the ground.
He met with the civil council to discuss what happens after ISIS, “to make sure that local people from Raqqa are in charge of their own affairs and set the conditions for people to return to their homes. That’s really fundamental in the post-ISIS phase.”
Noting that they are not in the post-ISIS phase yet and won’t be for some time, he added that they are in “close consultations” with Turkey on this matter.
Militarily, McGurk said the battle for Raqqa would be a long, tough one but was “pretty much on plan.”
As the self-declared capital of the ISIS caliphate, there were a lot of “hard core foreign fighters” in the city. The coalition’s mission, McGurk said, was to make sure they died in Raqqa.
Local members of ISIS, he said, could be dealt with by the local authorities, referring to 83 who were pardoned earlier.
Maj. Gen. Jones commended the Raqqa Civil Council, tweeting that they were “doing great work & dedicated to helping population liberated from ISIS.”
Jones also met with new trainees who had joined local security forces.
The UN warned on Wednesday that up to 100,000 civilians are trapped in the city.
"The intense bombardment of Al-Raqa over the past three weeks has reportedly left civilians terrified and confused about where they can seek refuge as they are caught between ISIL's [ISIS] monstrosities and the fierce battle to defeat it," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN high commissioner for human rights.
He urged all parties to do more to protect civilians.
The Kurdish-led SDF are leading the offensive to oust ISIS from the city of Raqqa. They are in the fourth week of their campaign and are facing stiff resistance from militants in the city. As territory is cleared of ISIS and explosives, the SDF will hand it over to the Raqqa Civil Council to govern.
McGurk was last in northern Syria in May, meeting with the civil council soon after its formation.
Brett McGurk, special US presidential envoy to the global anti-ISIS coalition, and British Maj. Gen. Rupert Jones, coalition deputy commander, met with commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the leadership of the Raqqa Civil Council in Ain Issa, 50 km north of Raqqa city.
In an interview with Jenan Moussa of Arabic Al Aan TV, McGurk said he was in Syria to get a sense of the military and humanitarian situation on the ground.
He met with the civil council to discuss what happens after ISIS, “to make sure that local people from Raqqa are in charge of their own affairs and set the conditions for people to return to their homes. That’s really fundamental in the post-ISIS phase.”
Noting that they are not in the post-ISIS phase yet and won’t be for some time, he added that they are in “close consultations” with Turkey on this matter.
Militarily, McGurk said the battle for Raqqa would be a long, tough one but was “pretty much on plan.”
As the self-declared capital of the ISIS caliphate, there were a lot of “hard core foreign fighters” in the city. The coalition’s mission, McGurk said, was to make sure they died in Raqqa.
Local members of ISIS, he said, could be dealt with by the local authorities, referring to 83 who were pardoned earlier.
Maj. Gen. Jones commended the Raqqa Civil Council, tweeting that they were “doing great work & dedicated to helping population liberated from ISIS.”
Jones also met with new trainees who had joined local security forces.
Raqqah Internal Security Force new trainees. All locals & ready to secure their province once liberated from ISIS @coalition @CJTFOIR pic.twitter.com/urasCohTJ8
— Rupert Jones (@rupertthjones) June 28, 2017
The UN warned on Wednesday that up to 100,000 civilians are trapped in the city.
"The intense bombardment of Al-Raqa over the past three weeks has reportedly left civilians terrified and confused about where they can seek refuge as they are caught between ISIL's [ISIS] monstrosities and the fierce battle to defeat it," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN high commissioner for human rights.
He urged all parties to do more to protect civilians.
The Kurdish-led SDF are leading the offensive to oust ISIS from the city of Raqqa. They are in the fourth week of their campaign and are facing stiff resistance from militants in the city. As territory is cleared of ISIS and explosives, the SDF will hand it over to the Raqqa Civil Council to govern.
McGurk was last in northern Syria in May, meeting with the civil council soon after its formation.
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