Authorities Prepare for Refugees Fleeing Fighting in Raqqa

Authorities Prepare for Refugees Fleeing Fighting in Raqqa

ROJAVA, SYRIA—

As fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces move on Raqqa, the Islamic State's defacto capital, many residents of the northern Syrian city and nearby villages are fleeing their homes. In Ras al-Ayn, just to the northeast, officials are preparing for a flood of refugees.

The lines of cars are long as people wait tensely, trying to escape Raqqa where international airstrikes rain down on Islamic State targets. Civilians¹ here are heading north in search of refuge in Kurdish-held areas.

Ras al-Ayn is in that zone of relative safety, although security forces here are on alert for IS fighters trying to hide among the refugees.

Checkpoint screening

One highway connects Raqqa with such towns as Ras al-Ayn, and people who are fleeing IS-controlled territory pass through. Kurdish security has set up checkpoints to screen those coming in.

“We will ask everyone who comes to Ras al-Ayn to have someone sponsor them so that we can identify each person. We will have the information of where these people are going to stay," said Husein Hamid, a security officer from Rojava, an autonomous² region in northern Syria controlled by the Kurds.

"We are serious about the security of Ras al-Ayn, that is why we will make sure we know about everyone who comes here,” he said.

For those who do make it through, authorities and NGO's are getting ready to help them.

“This area is about 120 hectares, and we are preparing eight hectares of it to house the displaced people. We are setting up close to 4,000 tents in this area alone,” Suleiman Abdul-Aziz, with the Rojava Organization for Human Aid.

Seeking support

Humanitarian³ organizations in the region expect that during the operation to recapture Raqqa, more than 300,000 people will flee to Ras al-Ayn and other towns nearby. Aid workers on the scene say they are not sure if the local administration has enough resources to handle the refugee crisis, however, and they are urging international organizations to help.

"It is wintertime and because of the lack of tents, we are asking all the organizations to help us. There are thousands of people fleeing from ISIS areas and we cannot handle this on our own," said Abdul-Aziz.

As the US-led coalition⁴ and Russia step up the air war against IS in Raqqa, local authorities say they realize this is just the beginning.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。