Syria: Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announce start of campaign to retake Raqqa
U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian forces announced their plan Sunday to retake the Islamic State group’s de facto capital of Raqqa, saying they hoped Turkey would not “interfere in internal Syrian affairs.”
The announcement by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish, Arab and Christian forces, was made Sunday at a press conference in Ein Issa, north of Raqqa, attended by commanders and spokespeople for the group. An official who read out a statement said the operation to liberate Raqqa, dubbed the “Euphrates Rage” operation, had officially begun.
The statement said that 30,000 fighters will take part in the operation.
The SDF alliance is dominated by the powerful Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and has a total of about 30,000 Kurdish fighters and about 5,000 Arab fighters.