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A US-BACKED Syrian force has declared victory over the Islamic State (IS) group in its former ‘capital’ of Raqqa today, declaring the northern Syrian city free of any extremist presence.
At a press conference held inside the city today, the Kurdish-led force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) formally handed over administration of the devastated northern city to a council made up of local officials and tribal leaders.
In a highly symbolic move, the press conference was held inside the city’s sports stadium which Islamic State militants had turned into an arms depot and a huge prison where they incarcerated and tortured their opponents.
“Our victory is one against terrorism, and the liberation of Raqqa marks the latest chapter in the fight against terrorists in Syria,” said Talal Sillo, a spokesman and senior SDF commander.
Standing before a backdrop of shattered buildings, Sillo urged the international community and aid organisations to assist with the city’s reconstruction.
Associated Press drone footage from Raqqa showed the extent of devastation caused by weeks of fighting between Kurdish-led forces and the Islamic State group and thousands of bombs dropped by the US-led coalition.
The footage from yesterday shows the bombed-out shells of buildings and heaps of concrete slabs lay piled on streets littered with destroyed cars. Entire neighbourhoods are seen turned to rubble, with little sign of civilian life.
Uninhabitable city
The video showed entire blocks in the city as uninhabitable with knocked-out walls and blown-out windows and doors, while some buildings had several stories turned to piles of debris. The stadium that was used as an arms depot and prison by the extremists appears to have suffered less damage compared with surrounding buildings.
Sillo said 655 local and international fighters lost their lives during the four-month battle for Raqqa.
We call upon all countries and peace-loving forces and all humanitarian organisations to participate in rebuilding the city and villages around it and help in removing the scars of war that were inflicted by the IS group.
Long before the ground offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces began in Raqqa in early June, warplanes pounded the city for months.
The US-backed Kurdish-led SDF announced on Tuesday they have driven IS militants out of the city after weeks of fighting.
The fall of Raqqa marks a major defeat for IS, which has seen its territories steadily shrink since last year. IS took over Raqqa, located on the Euphrates River, in January 2014, and transformed it into the epicentre of its brutal rule.
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Until they start actually punishing people for animal cruelty nothing will change.
@Eyepopper: and people should NEVER respond to ads on those online selling sites. I boycott them and only visit adverts.ie as they refuse to allow animals to be sold by randomers through their site.
How about the government put a thing in place where there is no dog licence fee if you adopt a dog from an animal shelter? Might help take the pressure off the shelters a bit. I wouldnt ever buy a dog from a puppy farm..have 2 rescue dogs instead
@anthony marren: Absolutely and also, how about nobody buys a dog from a puppy farm and they’d all go away.,
But unfortunately we have many stupid people in our midst.
Anyone who buys a dog as a Christmas present is part of the problem.
Rescued a puppy back in September after loosing my last best friend. We weren’t emotionally ready for a new dog but we actually felt like we were depriving a dog of a good home. We are now waiting for February/March for the unwanted Christmas presents to begin getting dumped before we get the new puppy a play mate… we literally feel obliged!!
@anthony marren: Our rescue dogs from an animal shelter are the most adorable little sweethearts you could hope to meet – they have lots of young dogs if that is what people want – on the plus side they are often already toilet trained, have all their vaccinations, etc. and have been assessed by the shelter for temperament. So many beautiful dog people being put down every year – get a dog from a shelter people.
This is the same minister Coveney who insisted there was no equine welfare issues during the recession when literally hundreds of them were being abandoned and left to starve all over the country. He has displayed an incredible lack of sensitivity to animal welfare issues and is not a suitable person to be introducing regulations around puppy farming. It simply won’t work.
Also the minister that allowed live exports to middle eastern countries – he doesn’t give a sh!+ about animal welfare
@Ross Stewart: Also the same minister Coveney who insisted that the Irish badger cull was a great success which apart from costing millions and condemning thousands of badgers to prolonged inhumane deaths is totally ineffective. Scotland and most of mainland europe are officially TB free!! Scotland achieved this in 2009 without badger culling through better farming methods, movement testing and restrictions. I wouldn’t leave that fella minding my budgie because he’d probably roast him with some parsnips and eat him with cranberries and orange sauce.
I have a beautiful, annoying, brainless, warm and ever smiling mixed breed dog. She is truly a member of the family. She is a rescue dog and valuable to no one but us. Here is a real forced breeding and eugenics story. These farms should be illegal and people who buy these pure bred dogs should be ashamed to call themselves animal and dog lovers. Racially pure dogs. More shite.
@Hugh Mannatee: Racially pure?. You mean the breed, not a race. Pure breds are valuable in that they have papers and a history of the bitch etc. Mixed breed dogs much harder to define their history. Important to many people.
@Colin Foley:
“papers” are meaningless – it gives no guarantee of health, temperament or background or sociablility. Many “papers” are forgeries and most people wouldn’t even know the difference.
‘“We in the animal welfare community we take the view that dogs are not farm animals,” said Gillen.’
What’s that supposed to mean?
Why not ban all breeding? As long as there are animals being put down on a daily basis for the want of a home, there’s no place in this country for farms.
@Ruaidhrí O’Baoill: They totally should ban people breeding dogs for profit. If that won’t wash, then they should severely restrict and control licences for dog breeders. And people, please boycott those online selling sites that have sections selling puppies and email them to tell them – in my view this is where the puppy farm people sell their animals. adverts.ie does not sell animals.
how about not breeding any dogs for the next 20 years.. until every animal shelter have empty cages…
Coveny wants to pick up a cheap pug for the crimbo
I hope people learn from the animal welfare initiatives to educate people on the horrors of puppy farming and choose a shelter pet…. it breaks my heart to see animals being ill treated & abused in the name of money.
Please, if you love dogs, take the time to read up about this, follow the links and add your voice to the public consultation. Ireland’s reputation is being damaged so much by the puppy farm scandal and the situation needs addressing. However, any legislation is only as good as its enforcement so the other thing that needs to be done (other than ban puppy farms completely which would be the best solution) is for proper, unannounced inspections not the farcical ones have taken place up until now. The Myshall scandal is a case in point as is the ongoing saga in Cavan!
@patruth: We have one from Myshall and she is only now allowing us to handle her ..at times. She lives here happily with her new big sisters, a Rottweiler, a GS and a heeler but she has health problems and will never be right after her mistreatment. I’ve had dogs for over 70 years now and am always amazed at how loving and gentle that rescued dogs are no matter what the breed. Shame on our waffling ministers for not enforcing the existing laws on cruelty and neglect, we have enough laws if only they were enforced
Anyone who goes out and pays EUR400-EUR1000 for a Labradoodle or what have you is part of the problem in my opinion. They never buy the dogs from a puppy farm; they are always on display in some farmhouse surrounded by a loving family but of course they come from a puppy farm none the less.
Guidelines aren’t worth a shite. This is a debate about nothing.
As long as they are not parking up the wrong tree or crying let sleeping dogs lie!
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