fighters have a long story. Al-Hayat secretly met a number of civilians in Raqqa. They each told their stories, or what they witnessed, with the immigrants. They all said that the population won’t remain silent for long. The pressure on the civilians will lead to an explosion, according to “Mohammad,” 24. He and his family fled Deir al-Zour. He said, “[The following story] summarizes what the immigrants think about the people of the city and the region. One day, when I was at an internet cafe filled with Tunisian fighters, [I overheard one fighter say] to his friend via Skype to come do jihad in Syria, especially in Raqqa, where food is abundant and where there are many empty homes, and where the women are pretty, and ‘the men are cowards.’” Chechen immigrants have their own story. Many of them came to Syria with the intensification of fighting, and most joined Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS. In the words of more than one person we met, Chechen immigrants have special privileges over others because they came with all their family members. And that can be noticed as you walk Raqqa’s streets. Rim, a Raqqa local, told us, “Chechen immigrants are living a luxurious life. You always see them in the city’s restaurants and they buy food in large quantities. Their children keep buying chocolate, especially foreign chocolate, such as Mars or Snickers, which cost 100 or more Syrian pounds. The Chechens also have the latest technology in mobile phones, computers, computer tablets and many others.” Defecting from ISIS equals death The immigrant’s life isn’t always easy. His jihad in Syria could also be a curse. Recently, many immigrants were executed in the field, according to Raqqa locals. Not a week goes by without someone being executed. There have been as many as five executions per week. The charges against them range from disbelief in God to leaving the “group” [ISIS]. But according to the locals, executions are for those who defected from ISIS after they saw how it truly functions
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 06:02:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015