SILVA AL-IBRAHIM

Kobani – Displaced Kurdish women from the city of Raqqa who headed to Kobani confirmed that the families who sacrificed their sons for the liberation of the world from ISIS are now being subjected to acts of revenge following the entry of HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) jihadists into Raqqa.

Despite the siege imposed on the city of Kobani, it is hosting nearly 200,000 displaced people from the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa in addition to Tal Abyad camp. The displaced are suffering from severe humanitarian conditions after being forced to leave their homes for fear of massacres and extermination at the hands of HTS jihadists.

Zulekha Ahmad, who lost her son while participating in the campaign to liberate Raqqa from ISIS, is now living with her family and grandchildren in Viyan Hospital, which has been turned into a shelter for the displaced. She says:

“We are originally from the countryside of Kobani and settled in the city of Raqqa at the beginning of the Syrian crisis. When HTS jihadists attacked the city, we left our homes to protect our dignity. We feared a repeat of the Shengal massacre against us, as all the violations they commit amount to war crimes.”

She adds:

“We headed to the countryside of Kobani, and with the intensification of the military escalation we moved to the city center and took the hospital as a shelter. These conditions coincided with snowfall, which increased our suffering. Until now most of the displaced sleep without blankets, and this has raised the rate of illness among children.”

After a month of displacement, Zulekha Ahmad returned to Raqqa to check on her house and the situation in the city, then came back with her family and settled again in Kobani. She was shocked to find her house completely looted:

“Nothing was left in our home except the walls and the doors. I had locked it tightly when I left, but after I returned to Kobani those who remained there told me they broke the door again. I cried bitterly over what happened to us, but what will tears change? Even the hope of return is gone. Where will we return if the doors of our homes have been torn off and everything inside stolen?”

“The families who sacrificed their sons for the liberation of the world from ISIS and fought until they were martyred are the ones most subjected to revenge in Raqqa,” she says sorrowfully, adding:

“I am from a family of martyrs. My son, my nephews, and two of my daughters’ husbands fought ISIS mercenaries until their last breath. My son left behind two orphaned girls, while each of my daughters is raising an orphaned child.”

“We Will Not Remain Silent About Our Rights”

Amira Sabri also fled the massacres committed against Kurdish families in the city of Raqqa. She took the path of displacement with her family after a massacre was committed against two families she knew:

“A Kurdish woman and three Kurdish men from the village of Kork were slaughtered, and two girls from the same family were kidnapped. We do not want displacement, but the swords of the jihadists and their violations forced most of the Kurds of Raqqa to leave.”

She now lives with dozens of displaced Kurdish families from Raqqa. Due to the lack of heating, most of the displaced children suffer from colds. She demanded the harshest punishment for those who committed crimes against them:

“We will not remain silent about our right to justice and fairness. We will struggle until we obtain our rights. We want to put an end to the genocide practiced against us and to this repeated displacement.”