Kurdish forces launch offensive on Raqqa, Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed coalition of armed groups led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), said it has mobilised thousands of fighters in the countryside north of Raqqa.

SDF released a statement declaring its goal of "liberating" Raqqa from Daesh, which has ruled the town with an iron first, according to rights groups and activists. 

“The mission will be difficult because Daesh is a formidable fighting force", said Aljazeera reporter Stefanie Dekker, however.

Fighting was reportedly ongoing on Tuesday near Ain Issa, situated around 55km from the Daesh-controlled city. 

Dekker explained that the presence of Arab fighters in the SDF's ranks is crucial to the success of the offensive because the areas they will attempt to take over have large Arab populations. 

"It is crucial to have enough Arab fighters in this force when they take these areas where a lot of Arab, non-Kurds live, because there is a lot of suspicion of the Kurds. This is why it's taken so long to start this." 

Writing on Twitter, Syria analyst Charles Lister said Daesh may launch retaliatory attacks in Kurdish-held areas

#pt: US SOF personnel or not, I’ve a feeling #ISIS will struggle around #Raqqa. This isn’t the same maniacal force the #YPG faced in #Kobane

— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) May 24, 2016

On Monday, Daesh suicide bombers struck several areas in Tartus and Jableh, government-held cities on Syria's coastline, killing at least 150 civilians. 

UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last month that the actual death toll could be as high as 400,000 people. Syria's conflict started with mostly unarmed demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. It has since evolved into a full-on civil war that has killed at least 270,000 people, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.