What happens in Tell Abiad

Hundreds of Syrians gathered on the Syrian-Turkish border in the area of Tell Abiad near the border gate, and also near the village of Quneitra to the east and Tal Fandar west of the city.

These crowds fled from the area after the recent progress of the joint forces (the Free Army with Kurdish Protection Units) towards the city of Tell Abiad. Consequently, ISIS announced that whole region of Tell Abiad and its surroundings are a military zone, they also started transferring the families of foreign fighters toward Raqqa city, demanding residents of Kurdish villages to flee only towards Turkey or Palmyra, and prevent them from going toward Aleppo or Raqqa.

Only 800 people were able to enter Turkey out of more than 13,000 people stranded at the legal and illegal crossings. Turkish authorities has established semi-legal crossing in the village of Quneitra, which is just a place to gather refugees, but they only allowed 800 people to enter Turkey.

Other cities that are located near the line of clashes such as the city of Suluk that has become a ghost town after all inhabitants have fled. There are only three restaurants working compulsively to offer their services for ISIS members. Also Tell Abiad city which ISIS closed its hospital in front of people.

The doctors who still working so far are: ” Dr. Mohammed Al-Salem for internal medicine – Dr. Fawaz Al-Ali for surgery – Dr. Ibrahim Al-Ghanim for children.” In addition to that ISIS raise the price of bread to 14.75 Syrian pounds to the loaf, although the price of wheat is 48 Syrian pounds per kilo. ISIS has increased hours of providing electricity for the city up to 16 hours a day, as a result of shrinking of areas controlled by the organization.

The area which located between Badi from the west to Shreian at the east, and from Jalap bridge from the north to Booz Alkhanzeer to the south, have exposed to 100% damage in crops such as wheat, vegetables, cotton and fruit trees as a result of a storm that passed through the region three days ago, where losses estimated in hundreds of millions of Syrian pounds.

Wages of a car from Suluk to Raqqa reached to 50,000 Syrian pounds, and from Raqqa to Tell Abiad to 25,000 Syrian pounds. Although the official gate border is open from Turkey towards Syria only. Material prices in the city of Tell Abiad are:

1. Sugar 175 S.P

2. Obesity 8 kg 4,500 S.P

3. Olive oil 14,000 S.P for a 16kg

4. Rice 250 S.P

5. Gas cylinders are available in abundance for 1000 S.P

6. Vegetables are available but at exorbitant prices Airplanes did not leave the sky of the city since 3 AM in the morning without carrying out any air raid till this moment.

media activist from the city of Raqqa, student at the Faculty of Law at the University of the Euphrates. Director of the Media Office of Raqqa, founding member of "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently", founding member of the documentary project of "Sound and Picture". I work in documenting violations committed by Assad's regime and ISIS group and extremist organizations inside the city of Raqqa, as I work in programming, design and visual media. I hold a certificate of coach in digital security, and a certificate of journalist coach, and a certificate in documenting violations against human rights, and a certificate in electronic advocacy. I underwent a training under the supervision of "Cyber-Arabs" in collaboration with the Institute for War and Peace "IWPR", about the management of electronic websites and leadership of advocacy campaigns, and a training of press photography under the supervision of the photojournalist "Peter Hove Olesen".