PHOTO: A A Syrian Democratic Forces fighter north of Raqqa on Monday (Rodi Said/Reuters)


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  • Syria Developing: Pro-Assad Forces Claim Control of Key Area Near Aleppo

    The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces claimed advances on Monday in their offensive to take the Islamic State-held city of Raqqa in northern Syria.

    The SDF announced the offensive on Sunday against ISIS’s central point in the country, held since autumn 2013. Troops and equipment were mobilized in the town of Ain Issa, 50 km (31 miles) north of Raqqa.

    An SDF source said a series of villages were taken yesterday, with ground forces supported by airstrikes by the US-led coalition. He said the Islamic State had tried to check the advance with five suicide car bombs.

    However, he said the battle to enter the city would “not be easy”.

    An SDF spokeswoman, Jihan Shiekh Ahmad, said Raqqa will be run by a military and a civilian council made up of inhabitants when it was freed.

    She said this was the model used in Manbij, ISIS’s central position in Aleppo Province, when it was taken in August.

    The SDF has faced the concern of tension if a Kurdish-led force controls a mainly-Arab city. The force has responded that only Arab troops will be entering Raqqa.

    Turkey has also objected to the offensive because it believes the Kurdish militia YPG, which leads the SDF, is part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK. US officials, including the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been in Ankara this week to discuss the operations.

    Coalition official Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said on Monday that there are ongoing consultations over plans for Raqqa’s occupation and how it will be governed.

    But a US official in Washington said the political issues would likely mean that the takeover is distant, as there is “no available force capable of taking Raqqa in the near future”. Other US officials said the process of sealing off and isolating the city could take two months or longer.


    Picture: White Helmets Rescue Child from Deadly Bombing in Idlib Province

    A White Helmets volunteer rescues a child from pro-Assad bombing of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Province in northwest Syria:

    khan-sheikhoun-rescue-08-11-16

    At least seven people, including four children, were killed in the attacks.


    Journalist Bakkour Killed in Russian Airstrike

    Journalist Ammar Bakkour has been killed by a Russian airstrike in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

    Bakkour was among at least 11 people who died in the village of al-Dana on Sunday.

    The Association of Syrian Journalists condemned the attack in a statement, saying that at least 200 journalists and media activists have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.

    Bakkour w0rked for the Kulluna Shurakaa newspaper, which said on Sunday:

    Bakkour made dozens of outstanding news reports. He was a decent, professional, and dedicated journalist, an example to us all. The revolution was flowing like blood in his veins. He gave his life reporting events in Syria after refusing to leave the country on whose soil he chose to live and die.


    Hadi Abdallah Wins Press Freedom Prize

    Reporters Without Borders has awarded its 2016 Press Freedom Prize to frontline pro-opposition journalist Hadi Abdallah.

    Abdallah, 29, rose to prominence in 2013 for his coverage of the Assad regime’s siege of Homs and of battles such as the fight for Qusayr. He narrowly avoided death on numerous occasions and was briefly kidnapped by the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra in January.

    In June, he was seriously wounded by an improvised explosive device near his home in Aleppo city. His friend and cameraman, Khaled al-Issa, was killed.

    RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said:

    We are very pleased to award this prize to journalists and media outlets that have distinguished themselves by their professionalism and courage in countries where practicing journalism often means taking your life into your own hands.

    At 29, Hadi Abdallah has become the international community’s eyes in Syria, reporting the daily atrocities in what is one of the world’s deadliest countries for the media.

    Abdallah (right) and Khaled al-Issa after they were injured on the frontline in June:

    AL-ABDALLAH INJURED 06-16