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Northern Raqqa offensive
The Northern Raqqa offensive was a 2016 military offensive launched by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in northern Raqqa Governorate, in order to prepare for a future attack on the city of Raqqa. The offensive was launched in coordination with airstrikes by the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. After 30 May, the offensive stalled, as the SDF shifted its focus and resources to another operation in the northern Aleppo Province.
On 1 April 2016, Democratic Union Party (PYD) leader Salih Muslim stated that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces were preparing with the US-led coalition to launch an offensive on Raqqa.
U.S. Central Command Commander General Joseph L. Votel, the highest-ranking U.S. military official to visit Syria since the war erupted in 2011, came to Northern Syria in May 2016.
Kurdish forces established a stronghold about 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of Raqqa. ISIL reportedly used the residents of Raqqa as human shields, preventing them from leaving the city.
According to Joshua Walker of the German Marshall Fund, Raqqa could be "the beginning of the end" for ISIL, and the most important offensive since Kobani in 2015.
On 20 May the US-led coalition dropped leaflets on the city, encouraging the residents to leave.
The SDF is led and dominated by YPG forces, which generally consist of Kurds. To avoid ethnic tensions with Raqqa's majority Arab population, US special forces trained more than 200 Arab fighters to take part in the offensive.
The announcement for the offensive was made on 24 May, when the 30,000-strong SDF announced the offensive, "with participation from all SDF units", mobilising thousands of fighters in the countryside north of Raqqa, with the aim of expelling ISIL fighters from north of al-Raqqa.
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Northern Raqqa offensive
The Northern Raqqa offensive was a 2016 military offensive launched by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in northern Raqqa Governorate, in order to prepare for a future attack on the city of Raqqa. The offensive was launched in coordination with airstrikes by the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. After 30 May, the offensive stalled, as the SDF shifted its focus and resources to another operation in the northern Aleppo Province.
On 1 April 2016, Democratic Union Party (PYD) leader Salih Muslim stated that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces were preparing with the US-led coalition to launch an offensive on Raqqa.
U.S. Central Command Commander General Joseph L. Votel, the highest-ranking U.S. military official to visit Syria since the war erupted in 2011, came to Northern Syria in May 2016.
Kurdish forces established a stronghold about 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of Raqqa. ISIL reportedly used the residents of Raqqa as human shields, preventing them from leaving the city.
According to Joshua Walker of the German Marshall Fund, Raqqa could be "the beginning of the end" for ISIL, and the most important offensive since Kobani in 2015.
On 20 May the US-led coalition dropped leaflets on the city, encouraging the residents to leave.
The SDF is led and dominated by YPG forces, which generally consist of Kurds. To avoid ethnic tensions with Raqqa's majority Arab population, US special forces trained more than 200 Arab fighters to take part in the offensive.
The announcement for the offensive was made on 24 May, when the 30,000-strong SDF announced the offensive, "with participation from all SDF units", mobilising thousands of fighters in the countryside north of Raqqa, with the aim of expelling ISIL fighters from north of al-Raqqa.