In Syria, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces say over 60-thousand people, mostly civilians, have fled the Islamic State's last enclave in the country's east. Thousands more are believed to still be in the region. The mass departures started two months ago when the Kurdish-led forces laid siege to the town of Baghouz. An SDF spokesman told journalists that nearly 30-thousand militants and their families had surrendered to them. CGTN's Guy Henderson reports from the frontline in Baghouz.

Pinned back to a cliff face near the Iraqi border: the Islamic State fights on. Even under heavy fire, some remain above ground. We can see them from here. They use civilians as cover. Coalition aircraft can be heard overhead. They hold fire. The final push won't be won from the air but on the ground. The advance is slow.

GUY HENDERSON BAGHOUZ, SYRIA "We're standing about 700 meters from the IS positions, and there is a skirmish going on. We've heard heavy machine gunfire – artillery or mortars perhaps – and on this side: some kind of explosion."

In the midst of battle, the weather turns and Kurdish forces pull us back. Their enemy has used the dust storms to advance unseen before: and launch counter-attacks behind the frontline. Further back, fighters ready not tanks but civilian vehicles for battle. Mud is their only camouflage. They do have mine-clearer: each patch of ground they gain is laden with improvised explosives. 

And other traps lay in wait: this man tells us of an ambush the night before: the attackers, he says, burst out of tunnels. Even those fleeing – day by day -- bring danger. On Friday, three suicide bombers dressed in women's clothing blew themselves up on the way out. Six people were killed. Capture is preferred to killing. We saw one prisoner pass as we filmed. His captors were not amused.

ADNAN AFRIN COMMANDER, SYRIAN DEMOCRATIC FORCES "Commander Adnan Afrin tells us the Islamic State is losing territory. 'But there are sleeper cells,' he says. The war will be on-going."

As the sun sets, another possible ploy, smoke to throw off detection from above. That is where western backing has been vital. As another night draws in, it has not yet proved decisive. GUY HENDERSON, CGTN, Baghouz, eastern Syria.