The way I survived the death the day of Alrqqa fall

|| Expressive image ||
|| Expressive image ||

”take care of my family, they do not have anyone to do so for them”, were the last words Mhammad said to the taxi driver “Abo Zaid”, before being sentenced to death on one of the ISL checkpoints, and also were the same words the driver, who was arrested by the ISL repeated over again and again under the influence of the anesthetization, after the surgery.
Abo Zaid was the only survival after the ISL surprised domination over AlRaqqa city. He was talking with his tears in his eyes, and like he was choking, going back in memories and miseries of his two intimate friends, and though months have been gone of their death, he still remembers as the accident is happening now, and cry as the first time he has woke up after their death.
“We would not want to go back”, we went to Turkey to have fun, and that was our first time after liberating Al-Raqqa city. However, in the dawn of 9 January of 2014, the fourth day of the clashes between the ISL and the brigades in Al-Raqa city, we had an order from the head of the brigade to come back, in order to accompany one of the journalists, who arrive to the city in the morning. At that time there was only the province headquarter in the city center the ISL have not dominated yet. Moreover, their headquarter near Alnoor ST was the start point with the journalist to cover the events, with the fighters’ voices on the walki-talkies demanding to embargo the ISL members, and stop their progress.
Near Abo-Alheef fuel station was the first checkpoint of Ahrar Al-Sham, which was fortified near Al-Nour mosque, where Abo Zaid was driving, Mhammad beside him, and Anas with the journalist behind. Mhammad was not comfortable because of the alert of the checkpoint, which was surrounding the cars, and as he was stressed he asked Abo zaid to stop a 100 meter before the checkpoint. As an 80-year old man Abo Zaid seems as he was telling his story, he remove his tears and go on: “Anas call on the walki-talkie the checkpoint members:” Ahrar AlSham, Ahrar AlSham, anyone hears, over”
– I hear you clearly, over
– Sheikh, I am Anas Abo Hamza, if anyone on the checkpoint please reveal your masks, because we want to pass.
– We cannot, sheikh clashes are all around, it is for our safety.
– Sheikh, I am Anas Abo Hamza, and everyone knows me, give me the head, and let him remove his mask.
– Sheikh, I told you it is for our safety.
A heavy fire shooting toward the car ended the conversation; an anti-average flight’s bullet came across the car’s door. Mhammad started to throw manual bombes to confuse the checkpoint, as the journalist ran away to a bystreet, and survived.
The clash did not last but a few minutes, because of the lack of the ammunition, and then two cars from the checkpoint could surround the car, take off the weapons, and execute Anas and Mhammad field execution. He stopped for a while, and after a long moan continued: “they killed them in front of me; they put them against the wall and shouted them. At that time, Mhammad said: take care of my family, they have no one left to do so”, these words came as an eternal curse”. At that time, Anas was dead, after being shoot by two members of the regulation, using two stores of Kalashnikovs, applying the checkpoint head’s rule.
I went out from the car, as a bereaved mother, when Abo Azzam came, and introduced himself as a military leader of the ISL regulation, what made me realize that they restored some parts of the city.
Near the checkpoint there was a Zell truck, which Abo Zaid, and the FSA and Ahrar Al-Sham detained were moved by, as Abo Azzam has ordered to the province headquarter. “we got the province square, we were 18, no one was afraid, as they were waiting for the unexpected death, the last thing I remember is two bullets, one in my chest, and the other in my thigh, smashing the bone. – Abo Zaid, Abo Zaid, are you alive?” Abo Zaid said. As he was crying and smiling at the same time, he said: “I thought they were the angles calling me, since I was worshipping for God by my deeds. However, one pressure on my chest, made me feel the pain in my body, I could not realize how long I stayed like this, and I could not talk, but rather nodding, while I was moaning.
On the voice of the palmer, Abo Zaid woke up to find himself in AlMuwasa hospital. The palmer told him, that the ISL obliged him to cure them inside the headquarter, and then he found him in the rubbish, and recognize him, as he was always visiting the hospital. After a while, his brothers took him to the national hospital, under the control of Ahrar Alsham, before the arrival of the ISL to the hospital where he was. In the hospital they took off the bullets of his body, and put detonators, as there were not abilities to do a surgery, but again they were alarmed that the ISL have come to the hospital, what leads his brothers to move him to the nearest safe house, under the influence of the anesthetization.
Abo Zaid woke up repeating:” take care of my family, they have no one left for them to do so, Abo Mhammad, do not leave, your family needs you.” , many tries were done to calm Abo zaid, who stayed three days crying, after remembering what happened, and saying ununderstood words in some times.
Tensions dominated the city, after random raids by the ISL on the houses, and the military headquarters. The next day, 12 January of 2014, the day the ISL announced their full domination on AlRaqqa city, detonations were removed from Abo Zaid’s body by primitive tools, a nurse who was a student the family trust, did that, since there was not a doctor, in the light of the bad situation of the city. A few days, Abo Zaid was moving hardly, and all the house were afraid of a sudden raid, what makes him remove his beard and hair, then he decided to go to Deir Ezzor with his wife, and his brother. He drove himself in order to seem uninjured when passing the regulation’s checkpoints, and he took one of his relatives’ ID. 30 km after AlRaqqa city, where the FSA were dominating, his brother drove instead of him. Abo Zaid continue his cure in Deir Ezzor countryside, and moved after that to a village in the North, where he is getting by, through a small market.

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".

1 Comment

  1. achmed
    January 14, 2015 - 6:03 am

    The worst of the ISIS opportunists like Khaled Sharrouf, do no fighting but profiteer by trading in female slaves. He’s first to urge recruits to the front lines at Kobane while living fat and happy on the profits of misery. What his ISIS masters don’t know is he’s feeding sensitive ISIS intel to Jabhat al-Nusra who he worked with previously. He does this through his intermediary Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary.

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