AFP, BEIRUT: US-backed fighters on Thursday gave the Islamic State group 48 hours to leave the battleground Syrian town of Manbij, after US-led air strikes nearby reportedly killed dozens of civilians.
The raids on Tuesday by the coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq have provoked an intense backlash and local protests.
Syria’s opposition has urged the US-led coalition to suspend its strikes, and international rights groups demanded a thorough investigation.
The Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance that issued the ultimatum said it was intended to “protect civilian lives” in Manbij, a jihadist bastion in Aleppo province.
The alliance has been fighting to oust IS from the town since June, backed by heavy coalition air strikes.
“This initiative is the last remaining chance for besieged members of Daesh (IS) to leave the town,” said the Manbij Military Council, part of the SDF.
“In order to protect civilian lives and property and to protect the town from destruction we announce that we accept the initiative under which besieged IS members would leave with their individual light weapons,” the statement added.
The initiative was first floated last week by tribal leaders in Manbij, an SDF commander told AFP.
“But we took this decision now after IS used residents as human shields, after the media pressure on us, and to protect whatever civilians are left in the town,” the commander said on condition of anonymity.
The statement also urged civilians to try to leave Manbij or distance themselves from areas where clashes are taking place.
It follows an intense backlash over the reported deaths on Tuesday of at least 56 civilians, including children, in US-led air strikes while fleeing the IS-held village of Al-Tukhar near Manbij.