The Russian Defense Ministry's top general stated on Friday that the local population in the suburbs of Raqqa has launched an uprising against the United States-backed forces in the city. "The command of the Syrian Democratic Forces and local governments, appointed by the Americans, do not cope with the need to resolve humanitarian problems. The native Arab population is subjected to repression and punishment, forced mobilization is being carried out. This causes sharp discontent among local residents," Colonel-General Sergey Rudksoy said.
The general added that the city which was proclaimed the capital of the Islamic State in Syria in 2014, remains in ruins nearly 6 months after it was liberated from ISIS in October 2017 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the support of the US-led coalition. Rudskoy pointed out that the city, which saw the return of nearly 100,000 of its residents, is faced with a humanitarian catastrophe due to serious water shortages.
Turning to the besieged enclave of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus, Rudskoy claimed that the situation has dramatically changed since the beginning of Russian humanitarian efforts in the area. "Right now you are witnessing a humanitarian operation of a unique scale. Only today, 26,610 civilians left [Eastern Ghouta] through the humanitarian corridor, while the whole number of people, who left Eastern Ghouta, reached 44,639," he said, adding that no military activities have been carried out in the enclave in the past seven days.
