The international coalition led by Washington dropped notices in Raqqa on Thursday, the stronghold of Daesh in Syria, calling for its residents to leave their homes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and activists said on Friday.
According to Al-Khaleejonline.com, this is the first time that the coalition has dropped notices asking residents to leave their homes.
Speaking to AFP, Abu Mohamed, a founder of the social media group “Raqqa is Silently Being Slaughtered”, said: “It is not the first time that the coalition planes drop statements, but it is the first time they drop notices asking residents to leave.”
Abu Mohamed said that previous statements included warnings to Daesh members.
Director of the SOHR Rami Abdul Rahman said: “It is the first time that the residents were asked to leave the city”, noting this is likely “part of the propaganda war against Daesh”.
The SOHR has documented the death of around 408 civilians as a result of the international coalition airstrikes since the start of the attacks in September 2014.