Syria: Deir el-Zour civilians slowly recover from ISIL siege

2017-09-16 8

Everyday life in the Syrian city of Deir el-Zour is slowly recovering after government forces broke a three-year siege by the Islamic State group earlier this month.

Dozens of people queued patiently in front of a newly-opened shop to get basic supplies. A market has sprung up in the centre of the eastern city, with locals selling second-hand goods or produce grown in back yards.

For the civilians, after three years relying on erratic air drops of supplies for survival during the siege, any semblance of normal life must come as a relief.

The scenes were filmed on Friday afternoon by the Associated Press on a facility with the Russian military, who were out on patrol. The crew were unable to work independently.

Syrian government troops have been pushing out remaining ISIL fighters and are said to control over 60 percent of the city.

Outside Deir el-Zour, the US and Russia are backing separate offensives against the militants in an increasingly complex conflict.

On Saturday more clashes have been reported in the province. According to Reuters, US-backed militias said they came under attack from Russian jets and Syrian government forces. The monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes believed to be from the international coalition carried out several raids north of the city.