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Raqqa Liberated
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US-backed militias on Friday declared the "total liberation" of the Syrian city of Raqqa, which for more than three years was the de facto capital of ISIS.
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Speaking at a ceremony held to celebrate the capture of Raqqa, Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Talal Silo claimed a "historic victory" over ISIS and said the extremist group had suffered a "brutal" defeat.
He paid tribute to all those killed and injured in the struggle, as well as all the Syrian factions that battled for 130 days to force ISIS from its key Syrian stronghold and their international backers.
Silo said control of the city would be handed over to civilian leaders once clearing operations were completed and that the SDF would guarantee the protection of the city and its province.
"The future of Raqqa will be decided by its people," Silo said, as he urged the international community to support their rebuilding efforts.
A daunting task lies ahead of Raqqa's recently created civilian council, made up of local citizens, as they seek to restore the devastated city.
The ceremony was held in the same dusty Raqqa stadium where ISIS fighters made their last stand earlier this week.
SDF commanders told CNN that the choice of location was intended to add insult to injury following the extremist group's defeat there.
Local officials, dignitaries and tribal chiefs from Raqqa and neighboring towns and cities were among those to attend, alongside members of the Syrian Democratic Council, which is tasked with helping to rebuild the city.
Footage from the former soccer stadium showed jubilant SDF fighters dancing hand-in-hand to music pumping from loudspeakers as they gathered ahead of the ceremony.
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The following 1 user thanked ProfessorNobody for this useful post:
MyNameIsVest (10-20-2017)
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#3. Posted:
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Now I think the problem becomes that hopefully it becomes heavily guarded now. I believe ISIS has taken over previous liberated cities/towns and I think holy ground (I can't think of the name, they blew up a bunch of historical stuff there and filmed a lot of executions on that ground too.) 3+ years is too long to not think about putting an excessive amount of troops in an area only to be attacked and once again ISIS holds it and it starts all over.
Either way, great news victory was finally in liberating Raqqa!
Either way, great news victory was finally in liberating Raqqa!
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TaigaAisaka wrote Now I think the problem becomes that hopefully it becomes heavily guarded now. I believe ISIS has taken over previous liberated cities/towns and I think holy ground (I can't think of the name, they blew up a bunch of historical stuff there and filmed a lot of executions on that ground too.) 3+ years is too long to not think about putting an excessive amount of troops in an area only to be attacked and once again ISIS holds it and it starts all over.
Either way, great news victory was finally in liberating Raqqa!
Are you thinking of Palmyra?
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Cohle wroteTaigaAisaka wrote Now I think the problem becomes that hopefully it becomes heavily guarded now. I believe ISIS has taken over previous liberated cities/towns and I think holy ground (I can't think of the name, they blew up a bunch of historical stuff there and filmed a lot of executions on that ground too.) 3+ years is too long to not think about putting an excessive amount of troops in an area only to be attacked and once again ISIS holds it and it starts all over.
Either way, great news victory was finally in liberating Raqqa!
Are you thinking of Palmyra?
I believe so. I can't for the life of me remember what it was, but I remember reading that Russian sappers had to clear a city of explosives/mines twice. Once in December of 2016 and another in March of 2017. I believe it was Palmyra where ISIS was driven out twice.
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If Liberated means completely obliterated by our airstrikes, sure.
200,000 people fled, 2000 civilians killed, and not a single building left that is habitable.
Where are the Save Raqqa tweets?
200,000 people fled, 2000 civilians killed, and not a single building left that is habitable.
Where are the Save Raqqa tweets?
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Miss wrote If Liberated means completely obliterated by our airstrikes, sure.
200,000 people fled, 2000 civilians killed, and not a single building left that is habitable.
Where are the Save Raqqa tweets?
Pictures suggest much of Raqqa is in ruins, and Moscow compared it to the Allied destruction of the German city of Dresden in World War Two.
The US-led coalition says it tried to minimise risks to civilians.
Russia has itself been accused of committing war crimes for its bombardment of Aleppo last year.
UN war crimes investigators in June that there had been a "staggering loss of civilian life" in Raqqa.
Syrian activists say between 1,130 and 1,873 civilians were killed and that many of the civilian casualties were the result of the intense US-led air strikes that helped the SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, advance.
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The comparison to Dresden seems pretty true from the images used in multiple news sources.
While ridding the area of the parasite that infested the area for too long is good the damage caused seems overkill. I highly doubt any local infrastructure is left standing and rebuilding the area is going to take years.
And on your final point, people dont give a shit. The average westerner will either have no idea where Raqqa is, let alone Syria or not even know what is going on in that region. Crazy shit is happening everyday that the #PrayforXYZ and the "thoughts and prayers" are just becoming static noise that is been drowned out.
Hell, just reading through my social media today I saw this:
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BJP
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Miss wrote If Liberated means completely obliterated by our airstrikes, sure.
200,000 people fled, 2000 civilians killed, and not a single building left that is habitable.
Where are the Save Raqqa tweets?
I'm sure that when the civilians still living in the city were liberated their first thought was, "Fine but who's going to pay for the buildings?" rather than, "Oh thank God that I'm not living under one of the most oppressive systems ever invented any more. Thank God my family is no longer in immediate danger of being beheaded or sold into sex slavery."
These citizens don't even think that the US should be held fully accountable for the destruction.
That's why they're asking the international community for help rebuilding and have set up a local citizens council to organize the rebuilding.
Although, if they went by Trump's logic they'd be perfectly within their rights to say, "We're going to build a great city, brilliant, the best city ever, the best and biggest... and America is going to pay for it."
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