09 June 2017•Update: 10 June 2017
MOSCOW
Daesh has cut a deal with the PYD/PKK to leave its former stronghold of Raqqah in Syria without fighting, a Russian general claimed on Friday.
Speaking at a briefing in Moscow, Sergey Surovikin, a commander of Russian forces in Syria, accused U.S.-led coalition forces and the PYD/PKK -- fighting under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- of making an agreement with Daesh.
Surovikin also said that, according to reliable sources, Daesh fighters agreed with the PYD/PKK at the beginning of June to withdraw from districts 19 kilometers (around 12 miles) from Raqqah to Palmyra.
At least 45 civilians have been killed in airstrikes carried out by the U.S.-led coalition and attacks by the PYD/PKK in Raqqah recently, according to local residents.
Raqqah locals told Anadolu Agency the city's western Mashlab district had been hit on Thursday by more than 20 coalition airstrikes in which white phosphorus was used.
Meanwhile, the PYD/PKK has been shelling Raqqah’s city center -- with coalition air support -- for the last two days.
The PYD/PKK currently controls Raqqah’s 17th Unit area and now surrounds the Daesh-held city from the north, northeast, and northwest.
On June 6, the U.S.-led coalition announced the launch of a military campaign aimed at retaking Raqqah from Daesh.
U.S. support for the SDF has soured relations with Ankara due to the prominent role the PYD/PKK plays in the group.
Turkey considers the PYD/PKK to be the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, a designated terrorist organization in Turkey, the U.S. and EU.
However, the U.S. views the PYD/PKK as its ally in the fight against Daesh in northern Syria.
Reporting by Hakan Ceyhan Aydogan; Writing by Handan Kazanci
