Damascus Nov 6 (IANS) Hundreds of civilians started returning to the first neighbourhood that was liberated from the Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa a monitor group reported.
The return of civilians to the Mashlab neighbourhood east of Raqqa comes following 20 days of tension between the civilians and the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Xinhua news agency quoted the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying.
The civilians wanted a quick return to their homes following the SDF capture of Raqqa from IS last month but the monitor group said the return was granted after the neighbourhood was cleared of explosive devices left by IS.
With the help of the US-led airstrikes and special forces the SDF fully captured Raqqa from IS on October 17 following a four-month offensive to strip IS of its self-proclaimed capital in Syria.
--IANS
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