At least 30.000 fled Deir Ezzor as IS advances: NGO

(Zaman Alwasl)- At least 30.000 people fled towns captured by the Islamic State (IS) near the Syrian- Iraqi borders, a monitoring group said Sunday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said thousands of people have fled the embattled Deir Ezzor province after a dramatic collapse for their towns to the favor of al-Qaeda renegade group which declared revive of the Islamic caliphate days ago.

Towns of al-Shaheel, Khashm and al-Tabiya have witnessed mass exodus since the IS defeated fighters of al-Nusra Front who were controlling most districts of the eastern province.

Meanwhile, activists reported fierce shelling by Bashar al-Assad's forces at many neighborhoods of the city, saying we are trapped between militancy and regime, "we are between jaws of the pliers," they said.