ALEPPO, Syria — Dozens of vehicles carrying displaced citizens from Raqqa province arrive in Aleppo’s northern countryside daily. Raqqa has witnessed violent battles between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Islamic State (IS) since June 6, when the SDF launched military operations in the province to expel IS.

The SDF took control of Raqqa city, which is located in northeast Syria, in March 2013, but IS fought the armed opposition factions in the city and took complete control of the city in early 2014. Because the fighting in Raqqa had calmed down, it soon turned into a destination for Syrian refugees from cities and villages where violent battles with the Syrian regime forces were raging.

When the US-led international coalition declared war on IS in cooperation with the SDF on the ground, and with Turkey also fighting IS through supporting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions, IS lost many strategic locations in Syria, mainly al-Bab and Manbij in the northeast of Aleppo and on the border with Turkey. Consequently, the forces fighting IS in Syria became readier than ever to combat the organization in one of its strongholds in Syria — Raqqa. But the battle that the SDF launched in Raqqa June 6 forced thousands of civilians to escape the war and seek safer regions.

Doctors Without Borders stated June 1 that “around 10,000 civilians from Raqqa escaped toward a camp in the north of the city.”