Trapped In The Ruins Of Raqqa, We're Reduced To Stealing From The Dead

The battle for ISIS's capital, Ar-Raqqa, has now been ongoing for almost 3 months. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have taken more and more neighborhoods within the city, forcing ISIS fighters into an ever-shrinking urban area still under their control. Victory against the extremist group is all-but assured.

But at what cost?

For civilians still living in ISIS controlled areas, life is a waking nightmare. The US and its allies are using heavy artillery and relentless air-strikes to clear ISIS fighters from the city, who themselves are using civilians as human shields. Recent satellite footage shows a front of destruction that mirrors the front lines in the battle. As the SDF closes in, so does the destruction in the city.

Risking nothing short of his life, Tim Ramadan (the pseudonym of a Syrian journalist within Ar-Raqqa) tells a tale of how civilians attempt to survive. With no food left to eat, people exist on a soup made from weeds growing by the side of the road. They scavenge fuel and medicines from the houses of the dead and dare not to travel outside.

While the media was filled with the graphic reports of the plight of civilians within Aleppo during the final Russian air blitz against besieged rebels in the city, for a number of reasons we hear much less about the civilian cost of Western-led efforts. For this reason, this article is an important and timely read, showing that even the most justified of wars has a massive civilian cost.