US-backed forces have Islamic State fighters surrounded in central Raqqa, but driving the militants out could take up to four months.<br /><br />“We’ve cleared about half of Old Raqqa, and we’re advancing on all axes,” said Haval Gabar, a 25-year-old commander from the Kurdish YPG militia who is directing the assault on the Old City front in Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold.<br /><br />Units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance dominated by the YPG, joined forces in Raqqa’s southern districts on Tuesday, surrounding the militants in the city centre.<br /><br />“We are now pressing towards Mansour and Rashid districts,” said Gabar.<br /><br />As he spoke, the sound of machine gun fire barked over his walkie-talkie while air strikes staged by the US-led coalition slammed into targets nearby.<br /><br />The SDF, backed by the air strikes and coalition special forces, have been fighting since June to clear Islamic State from Raqqa city, its de facto Syrian capital. <br /><br />A separate campaign drove the group from its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul last month.<br /><br />However, the multi-phased Raqqa offensive began already in November, capturing surrounding towns and villages, encircling the city and cutting off Islamic State from the north, east and west.<br /><br />But the advances are proceeding cautiously, officials say. Initial predictions by the YPG that the Raqqa battle would be over in a matter of weeks were wrong.<br /><br />“It could take another three to four months to finish Raqqa,” Gabar said. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Syrians who have fled the embattled city say conditions are dire. At a camp for the displaced in the village of Ain Issa north of Raqqa, they’re receiving bread and water, but it’s not enough to see them through the extreme heat.<br /><br />A handful of civilians are able to escape the city each day. According to the UN, up to 50,000 civilians remain trapped.<br />
