Reuters: People pour from Islamic State Syria enclave, with babies at risk
DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - Hundreds more people fled Islamic State’s last enclave in Syria on Wednesday, part of an exodus of many thousands leaving the group’s tiny pocket of land while U.S.-backed forces hold off from an offensive.
Baghouz, a tiny cluster of hamlets and farmland on the banks of the Euphrates at the Iraqi border, is all that remains to Islamic State of the caliphate straddling the two countries which its leader proclaimed in 2014.
Around 40,000 people have come out in total, including 15,000 since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a final assault to capture it on Feb. 9, said SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali.
The number surpassed initial estimates and has delayed the attack.
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Update: Syria force evacuates families before final assault on IS (France 24)
WNU Editor: 40,000 have escaped this enclave since the start of this military campaign. A staggering amount, with hundreds escaping just today. But with less than a square kilometre of territory left, this last battle against ISIS is going to end quick when it is finally launched.
