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ACTIVISTS RISK THEIR LIVES TO SPRAY ANTI-IS GRAFFITI IN RAQQA
France 24
Oct 23 2014
Despite being a frequent target of airstrikes by the US-led coalition,
the city of Raqqa in eastern Syria is still firmly in the hands of
the Islamic State (IS) group. Thousands of civilians have fled the
city, but one group of activists has stayed behind to denounce the
jihadists' brutal rule. Their actions include spray-painting graffiti
with anti-IS slogans on the walls of the city - a daring act that
could cost them their lives.
Since the start of the air raids in late August, the streets of Raqqa
have looked relatively free of IS soldiers. However, the jihadist group
still has a tight grip on the city, closely watching the population
and manning mobile checkpoints throughout Raqqa.
"They have already called for our deaths, saying that we were
apostates"
Abou Warid al-Raqqawi is one of the 16 members of "Raqqa's throat is
being slit in silence", an activist network whose members are spread
out in the city and its surroundings.
Of course, we took many precautions while making these videos. We made
certain that IS soldiers were not in the area where we wanted to go --
though for safety reasons I can't explain how exactly we did this.
Also, the man in the video is wearing a hood, and his voice is not
recorded.
We're doing this graffiti in homage to our friend Moataz Billeh,
a member of our network who was killed by IS last May, barely one
month after our campaign began.
He was picked up by jihadists at a checkpoint in Raqqa, where they
found photos and other information about our campaign on his phone.
They decapitated him in a public square on May 8. In the mosques, they
called for our deaths on the basis that we were apostates and secular.
Luckily, they have not been able to identify us, as we always use
fake names on social media.
Three days ago, we managed to film one of the group's headquarters in
the centre of the city. It is the Armenian Catholic church al-Shuhada,
which they seized in March 2013. Today, the building has been deserted
by the group's fighters, who fear the coalition strikes.
http://observers.france24.com/content/20141023-activists-risk-graffiti-raqqa-syria
France 24
Oct 23 2014
Despite being a frequent target of airstrikes by the US-led coalition,
the city of Raqqa in eastern Syria is still firmly in the hands of
the Islamic State (IS) group. Thousands of civilians have fled the
city, but one group of activists has stayed behind to denounce the
jihadists' brutal rule. Their actions include spray-painting graffiti
with anti-IS slogans on the walls of the city - a daring act that
could cost them their lives.
Since the start of the air raids in late August, the streets of Raqqa
have looked relatively free of IS soldiers. However, the jihadist group
still has a tight grip on the city, closely watching the population
and manning mobile checkpoints throughout Raqqa.
"They have already called for our deaths, saying that we were
apostates"
Abou Warid al-Raqqawi is one of the 16 members of "Raqqa's throat is
being slit in silence", an activist network whose members are spread
out in the city and its surroundings.
Of course, we took many precautions while making these videos. We made
certain that IS soldiers were not in the area where we wanted to go --
though for safety reasons I can't explain how exactly we did this.
Also, the man in the video is wearing a hood, and his voice is not
recorded.
We're doing this graffiti in homage to our friend Moataz Billeh,
a member of our network who was killed by IS last May, barely one
month after our campaign began.
He was picked up by jihadists at a checkpoint in Raqqa, where they
found photos and other information about our campaign on his phone.
They decapitated him in a public square on May 8. In the mosques, they
called for our deaths on the basis that we were apostates and secular.
Luckily, they have not been able to identify us, as we always use
fake names on social media.
Three days ago, we managed to film one of the group's headquarters in
the centre of the city. It is the Armenian Catholic church al-Shuhada,
which they seized in March 2013. Today, the building has been deserted
by the group's fighters, who fear the coalition strikes.
http://observers.france24.com/content/20141023-activists-risk-graffiti-raqqa-syria