Fighting between the US-backed militias and Islamic State (IS) terrorists in the jihadist group’s former stronghold in Syria has peppered mosques and minarets with machine-gun fires, while air strikes flattened houses. No building is untouched in Raqqa. Senior member of Raqqa Civil Council Omar Alloush estimated that at least half the city has already been destroyed completely.
“The old clock tower could be seen from outside the walls once. It’s damaged now. It’s silent,” said Mohammed Hawi, a Raqqa-citizen, sitting at a nearby home occupied by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.
Driving militants out has caused destruction that officials say will take years and cost millions of dollars to repair. A major bridge leading into eastern Raqqa lies collapsed after a latest coalition air strike. Beyond it, damaged water towers and the skeletons of teetering residential blocks dot the skyline. “We’re waiting for help to repair the east bridge,” co-President Leila Mustafa, a civil engineer, said. “If it doesn’t arrive soon, we’ll begin ourselves, using any means we have, though we have practically nothing,” Mustafa added.
The nascent Raqqa Civil Council, set up to rebuild and govern the city, faces a huge task. It says that aid from member countries of the US-led coalition, who are bombing and burning all around while fighting the IS, is ridiculous. The failure to quickly return services to the city that was once home to more than 200,000 people (mostly now displaced) risks unrest.

Smoke rises at the positions of the IS militants after an air strike by the coalition forces near the stadium in Raqqa on October 4, 2017. Reuters/Erik De Castro

“Infrastructure is completely destroyed by the airstrikes and mortar shelling. Water, electricity networks, bridges – all the facilities are practically ruined or in very poor condition. There’s not a single service functioning,” said Ibrahim Hassan, who oversees reconstruction for the Raqqa Council at its headquarters in nearby Ain Issa.
The other problem is civilians of Raqqa dying every day as a result of assaults. “There are also bodies under rubble, of civilians and terrorists. These need reburying to avoid disease outbreaks,” Omar Alloush said. Amnesty International has claimed that the US-led campaign, including air strikes, has killed hundreds of civilians trapped in Raqqa. Residents have reported civilian deaths, but it is difficult to establish how many people have died.
The coalition says that it allegedly does all it can to avoid civilian casualties. But the city is densely built up and militants firing from homes are often targeted by air raids. Corridors for locals don’t work. People bear the brunt of the humanitarian catastrophe now taking place in Raqqa. There’s a gap in humanitarian assistance at a glance. The council said that coalition countries were reluctant to aid the Raqqa Council, made up of local engineers, teachers and doctors.
“It seems that we gave our city as a sacrifice for the sake of defeating terrorism. Now, it’s the world’s duty to help us,” say people of Raqqa who are not receiving support from the US-led coalition and also from Western countries. “It seems that after fighting for months, the US-led coalition decided to defeat Raqqa instead of the IS, but who will rebuild Raqqa after horrible airstrikes?” ask people, who seek help and justice. They are crying out for care and feeling hopeless.

Logical deductions of John Davison from Reuters are used in this article.

Boundless Ocean of Politics has received this article from Sophie Mangal, the investigative correspondent, Inside Syria Media Centre.

Sophie Mangal

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Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das