IS shuns offer to withdraw from in surrounded Syrian cityJuly 23, 2016 - 17:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Islamic State appeared to have shunned an offer for its fighters to withdraw safely from the Syrian city of Manbij and clashes with U.S.-backed forces raged ahead of its expiry, a spokesman for Washington-backed forces said on Saturday, July 23, Reuters reports. The Syria Democratic Forces alliance, made up of Arab and Kurdish fighters and backed by the United States, made rapid advances against the jihadists last month after launching a campaign to flush them out of territory along the Turkish border, through which they had for years moved weapons and fighters. The SDF quickly surrounded Manbij, but the fight to take the city has been tougher, with slow advances inside it in recent weeks. On Thursday the SDF-allied Manbij Military Council said Islamic State militants would be allowed to leave the city with light weapons, without a fight, if their departure took place within 48 hours. The offer had been initiated by local actors, the Council's spokesman Sharfan Darwish said, without elaborating. "The deadline is approaching, time is almost up ... and the battles are continuing. As far as we're concerned, the situation has not changed," he said on Saturday, adding that there had been no apparent response from IS to the initiative. "Our steps towards liberating Manbij are going ahead." The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes continues inside Manbij, and that the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS was bombing parts of the city and areas nearby, Reuters says. Activists say dozens of civilians have been killed this week in air strikes in the city and to the north, and the opposition Syrian National Coalition called for a suspension of the air strikes while the incidents are investigated. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. IDBank unveils three sad stories about fraudsters IDBank has unveiled three scenarios of card fraud that have been happening more and more often in Armenia. |