An Islamic State attack on the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka is reported to have displaced 60,000 people, the United Nations office in Syria said on Friday, warning that up to 200,000 people may eventually try to flee.
IS launched an assault on government-held areas of Hasaka on Thursday, capturing at least one district in the southwest of the city, which lies close to the borders with Turkey and Iraq.
The militants also attacked the Kurdish-held town of Kobane, or Ayn al-Arab, in its twin offensive on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said an estimated 50,000 people had been displaced within Hasaka while 10,000 had left northwards toward Amuda town, close to the Turkish border.
Its report on developments on Thursday cited the Syrian government’s Department of Social Affairs and local partners. It said the estimated prewar population in Hasaka was around 300,000 people.
IS said on Thursday it had seized Al-Nashwa district and neighboring areas in the southwest of Hasaka, a city divided into zones of government and Kurdish control.
120 Civilians Killed
At least 120 civilians have been killed by IS since the extremists entered Kobane on thursday, a monitoring group said Friday.
“According to medical sources and Kobane residents, 120 civilians were executed by IS in their homes or killed by the group’s rockets or snipers,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Meanwhile, Turkey on Thursday denied “baseless” claims that IS militants reentered Kobane through the Turkish border crossing to detonate a suicide bomb. The car bomb killed at least five people, according to the observatory.
Some claims even suggested four cars loaded with IS militants passed through the Mursitpinar border crossing in Turkey to make their way into Kobane, but Turkey vehemently rejected the allegations.
