Raqqa

Kurdish-led Syrian groups plan to attend Sochi talks, officials say

Raqqa - Muslimchronicle

Kurdish-led Syrian groups plan to attend Russia’s proposed Syria peace talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Kurdish officials have said. The Syria peace congress was originally scheduled for November 18th but was postponed and the Kremlin said on Thursday that no new date had been set. If the invitation is renewed, “we will attend Sochi and every otherRead more

Canada boosts funding to dig up landmines

Ottawa - Muslimchronicle

Canada announced more funding Monday to rid the world of landmines, including clearing explosives left by the Islamic State group in Raqqa and southern Syria. The Can$12 million (US$9 million) in new funding comes two decades after a UN treaty banning landmines was adopted. "Since the introduction of the Ottawa Treaty 20 years ago, significantly fewer people have been injuredRead more

More than 400 US troops leaving Syria

Raqqa - Muslimchronicle

More than 400 US Marines and their artillery are leaving Syria after helping to capture the city of Raqqa from ISIS, the US-led coalition fighting the militant group said on Thursday. Last month, US-backed militias declared victory in Raqqa, ISIS’s former headquarters in Syria, after months of fighting with the help of the US-led coalition. "With the city liberated andRead more

Germany to spend 10 mln euros to help clear mines in Syria

Hassakeh - Muslimchronicle

Germany will spend an initial 10 million euros to help remove mines from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the Handelsblatt newspaper said in Friday editions. The foreign ministry is set to announce the increased funding as part of a pact with the United States on Friday, the paper added. The agreement calls for Germany to help fund Tetra TechRead more

300 ISIS fighters might have fled from Raqqa

Raqqa - Muslimchronicle

The International Coalition stated, after a month since Syria's democratic forces restored Raqqa, that dozens of foreign fighters could have been hiding among civilians and might have managed to escape elsewhere during the evacuation of 3,000 civilians from the city. Col. Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for the coalition forces, said there were about 300 militants who had been identified asRead more

Chechen families of ISIS militants in Syria handed over to Russia

Qamishli - Muslimchronicle

The Kurdish authorities in northern Syria Sunday handed over to Russia Chechen women and children found in Raqqa city which was retaken in October from militants, an AFP correspondent said. Kurdish and Arab fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance announced on October 17 they had regained full control of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the ISIS groupRead more

First civilians return to Raqqa after mines cleared

Raqqa - Muslimchronicle

Hundreds of civilians have returned to a battered district of Syria’s Raqa in what a US-backed force said was the first wave of returns since it cleared explosives left by militants. The ISIS group lost control of Raqqa - once its primary Syrian bastion - on October 17 after a months-long battle with the Syrian Democratic Forces. Tens of thousandsRead more

First civilians return to Raqqa after mines cleared

Beirut - Muslimchronicle

Fresh Syria peace talks open in Kazakh capital

Moscow - Muslimchronicle

A fresh round of peace talks seeking to end Syria’s war began in the Kazakh capital Astana on Monday, as part of a Moscow-led push supported by Iran and opposition-backer Turkey. The latest round of talks began days after Daesh was forced out of its de facto capital Raqqa in northern Syria. Speaking to journalists after the first day ofRead more

Lipstick, mixed dancing at first Raqqa wedding since Daesh’s ouster

Raqqa - Muslimchronicle

At a house in Syria’s Raqqa, women and men danced together in celebration at a wedding that would have been unimaginable just months ago, when Daesh ruled the city. Residents told AFP that Ahmed and Heba’s wedding, held Friday in Raqqa’s western neighborhood of Jazra, was the first in the city since US-backed forces seized it on Oct. 17. OutRead more