US Attacks Spark Refugee Flight From Raqqa

Locals Fleeing to the Countryside to Avoid Attacks

The beginning of US airstrikes against Raqqa, the de facto ISIS capital in Syria, has sparked a major civilian exodus out of the city, with locals reporting people began fleeing to the countryside at dawn to try to escape more strikes.

Civilians had been fleeing from Raqqa since Obama announced the intention to attack two weeks ago, and the number picked up dramatically after the attacks began.

Locals inside Raqqa reported that not many civilian buildings had been hit “yet” in the US attacks, though given the limited intelligence on the ground, as fewer obvious targets become available, many expect that to change.

The civilian toll of the Raqqa strikes has yet to be reported, with only the 70 ISIS fighters confirmed kill. In Aleppo, where the strikes targeted Khorasan, eight civilians were confirmed slain, including three children.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.