The chairman of the independent commission of inquiry for Syria noted that Daesh had been losing territory at a rapid pace in the north and center of Syria over the past few months, the BBC reported.
In an address to the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, Paolo Pinheiro said the international coalition's offensive on Raqqa could liberate the city's civilian population from the group's oppressive clutches, including Yazidi women and girls, whom the group has kept sexually enslaved for almost three years as part of an ongoing and unaddressed genocide".
But he added that the offensive must not be "undertaken at the expense of civilians who unwillingly find themselves living in areas where Daesh is present".
"We note in particular that the intensification of air strikes, which have paved the ground for an advance of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced."

Source: MENA