In the occupied territories of Syria, the militants established their own code of conduct in accordance with their understanding of “Sharia law.” Women were forbidden to walk unaccompanied by men, a mandatory requirements was to cover up face, residents of the occupied territories were subjected to corporal punishment for smoking or other violation of the newly established rules. They prohibited women and girls to visit public schools. Women and children were only allowed to study the Quran, and boys were taught handling weapons.
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, retired, 60 years old
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, retired, 60 years old: “Women are not allowed to show their face, so they ordered all women to cover their faces, use hijabs or veils so that nobody could see them. They could choose any woman, take her and make her become a wife of one of the militants. It doesn’t matter if she wants it or not, she will live with that person, and he will be her husband. If I have a daughter, she is 15 years old, then they will find out that there is a 15-year-old girl, they will immediately take her away from there, they give her to any person among them.”
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant
Question: “What did the militants do? How did they treat people, women, men?”
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant: “Our life was really hard at that time. If they managed to find anyone who was a smoker, they immediately put this person in prison. I was walking near the house, a minibus with militants stopped, they did a kind of inspection, checked my pockets and found a pack of cigarettes, so they punished me with 40 stick strikes and I paid a $10 fine.”
Sausan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Raqqa Governorate, Ghanem al-Ali, 35 years old, housewife
Sausan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Raqqa Governorate, Ghanem al-Ali, 35 years old, housewife: “Being under control of the militants, women had to wear burqas so that nobody would see their faces, they were not even allowed to talk to men. They said that there is a law prescribing women to go around all covered up.”
Murhej Arad Al-Humaidan, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Jibli, 68 years old, peasant
Murhej Arad Al-Humaidan, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Jibli, 68 years old, peasant: “People ran away from them because they could get 100 blows with a stick because of a cigarette. They could beat women who didn’t wear a burqa, such situations often happened in the market. My son’s wife was whipped once in the market. She is 22 years old, her name is Alya Hammoud Zwuadi al-Abbed, she was punished with 50 stick blows in the market for not wearing a burqa.”
Hamada Mahmoud Al-Saju, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Western Shrida, 48 years old, housewife
Hamada Mahmoud Al-Saju, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Western Shrida, 48 years old, housewife: “My house was located near the school building where the militants used to live. I was scared to leave my house. Women are allowed to walk out in the street only accompanied by a man, if they see a man walking with a woman they asked them to show the documents confirming that they were husband and wife. I was afraid that if I go out of the house with my son, the militants would take my son away.
If a woman went out of her house without a burqa, she was sent to a Sharia court, where she was cursed and beaten with sticks. I was not among those who were punished, but I heard that 10 or 15 women were punished.”
Juriya Muhammad al-Khalaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 43 years old, housewife
Juriya Muhammad al-Khalaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 43 years old, housewife: “There were militants in Sabha, they established their Muslim, Islamic state called ISIL. We were prohibited to leave our houses. Those who go out of the house, had to cover their faces, only leave their eyes open.”
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, 60 years old, retired
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, 60 years old, retired: “They did not allow us to go to school. Women were prohibited to go to school, they were only allowed to learn how to read the Quran. My daughter is very young, they took her away, made her wear black clothes covering her body completely, and sent her to a special place where they will teach her their rules and read the Quran. My daughter was 14. The boys were taken away and taught how to handle weapons, they began to train them to become militants. They were offered money for this. It was considered to be a salary. They took boys aged 10-15. They spent about 4 hours every day to train the militants, the training usually took 4 months, then they were sent them to war.”
“There, in Harem, my sister left. They didn’t managed to escape. For today there is no road to go out of that location. Their life there is truly hard. We didn’t have enough food to eat. She says that they were not allowed leave the house where they lived, only her husband could go out to do his work, to earn some money for living. It was enough just for one day. He can only earn 3,000 Syrian liras a day, so he tells his son, who is 13 years old, to find and do some job to get some more money.”
In addition, residents of territories controlled by militants talk about the difficult financial situation of ordinary citizens, about pillaging by militants, about the resale of humanitarian aid by militants.
Pillaging is defined as a war crime in the report of the Responsibility Commission established after the First World War, as well as in the Statute of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg) established after the Second World War. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention pillaging is also prohibited.
The Hague Regulations prohibit pillaging under any circumstances. According to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, “Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault,” is a war crime during international armed conflicts.
Pillage is prohibited in many military regulations and instructions.
Pillaging is considered a crime under the laws of many states.
This prohibition was applied in a number of cases studied by the national courts after the Second World War.
Pillaging is also a crime during non-international armed conflicts when it comes to domestic violence.
For example, in its decision about the Military Junta case in 1985, the National Court of Appeal of Argentina applied the rule on the prohibition of pillage contained in the Hague Regulations to actions committed in a situation of domestic violence.
Muteb Samir Khaims, Idlib Governorate, Idlib, 39 years old, construction worker
Muteb Samir Khaims, Idlib Governorate, Idlib, 39 years old, construction worker: “We have recently had a state exam at schools, and Jehab An-Nusra banned these exams. All children were ready for the exam, they had to take such an exam - but the militants prohibited the exams, they said we had no right to do that. We are waiting for the moment when we can liberate ourselves or fight against the international coalition.”
Waffa Abdulrahman Habbush, 42 years old, housewife, Viam Mahmoud Habbush, 24 years old, housewife and Rua Mahmoud Habbush, 12 years old, schoolgirl, Idlib Governorate, Orekho
Waffa Abdulrahman Habbush, Idlib Governorate, Orekho, 42 years old, housewife: “In 2015, the militants occupied Orekho which is 15 minutes away by car from Idlib. It was truly hard time, we had to stay at our houses and were scared to go out. If our son fell ill, we couldn’t take him to the hospital. We could only go shopping to the store and back, buy the necessary food, and all this lasted for 5 years. I went shopping once a week, and the maximum distance from my house was 15 minutes away.
They forced us to follow the Shariah laws. They prescribed to wear clothes in a way that only women’s eyes could be seen. What Viyam is wearing right now, is not good clothes at all. The rules applied for little girls as well, it was all prohibited.”
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, 60 years old, retired
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, 60 years old, retired: “They (the militants from Jabhat An-Nusra and Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham_ stole everything people had, every family had, their stores, their land, they stole it and they gave that to other people who worked with them. The militants destroyed our house, our car, I had two cars, they crushed them and set them on fire.”
Muteb Samir Khaims, Idlib Governorate, Idlib, 39 years old, construction worker
Muteb Samir Khaims, Idlib Governorate, Idlib, 39 years old, construction worker: “Jabhat an-Nusra receive the humanitarian aid and distribute it among its soldiers or militants who cooperate with them. There is a place called Baba Haru, a settlement near the border with Turkey, they open a box there, and they will close it putting a different brand and label, and sell it to the market. They change marking and labels and use it for their militants.”
“There is a whole factory in Babi Haru that was repackaging the humanitarian aid. That’s not a secret. All people know this, and they know that this plant is for Jehab An-Nusra and they make money from everything.”
Hasin Jamil Asad, Idlib Governorate, al-Fu'ah, 51 years old, electrician
Hasin Jamil Asad, Idlib Governorate, al-Fu'ah, 51 years old, electrician: “When the militants surrounded our village, we were unable to do our agricultural work during the first year of blockade Then we started growing vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers. And that was the way we used to live. Many people who were simple agriculture workers were killed by snipers. There was a man, he got wounded with 5 bullets and he’s still alive.
We starved. One has children. It used to be so that he didn’t eat himself, but he was giving all his meal to the children. Diseases were the biggest risk. Because there were no fruits, no normal food, no vitamins, there were many diseases, liver inflammation and others. The militants kept shooting at the water storage points. The main problem is weakness, pain in joints and muscles, scabies, allergies due to dirty water... memory loss due to contusions.”
Muhammad Jamil Al-Din, Idlib Governorate, al-Fu'ah, 71 years old, retired
Muhammad Jamil Al-Din, Idlib Governorate, al-Fu'ah, 71 years old, retired: “We starved heavily. We could see meat only in the pictures, on TV screens. We grew vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers... They were our main food to survive. We picked even wild plants to eat. During the blockade, many people died of hunger. About 200-300 persons. Most of them were children. Because we were starving. It was a true famine...”
Mustafa Musa Muhammad, Idlib Governorate, Kafriya, 51 years old, member of militia
Mustafa Musa Muhammad, Idlib Governorate, Kafriya, 51 years old, member of militia: “We had no food to eat, no water at all. We depended on the rain, as we had to pick the rain water. About 300 persons died of hunger and cold. Let alone some other diseases. Most of them were children.
There are 6 persons in my family, me, my wife and children. I could cook a kilo of rice only once per 2-3 days. Without any salt, any oil, without anything. One kilo of rice cost 10,000 liras, flour cost 8,000 - 10,000 liras per one kilo. We had no bread at all. We were picking the eatable grass, to have at least something to eat.
Nasima Mohammed Zanza, Idlib Governorate, al-Fu'ah, 69 years old, retired
Nasima Mohammed Zanza, Idlib Governorate, al-Fu'ah, 69 years old, retired: “If the militants could block the access to air for us to breathe, they would block it completely for us. We had no more food left at home. I tried to cook bread from rice, I tried to use other products, but it didn’t work out. Unfortunately, many children died some time after their birth, because our hospitals almost did not work, though our doctors did what they could.”
Muteb Samir Khaims, Idlib Governorate, Idlib, 39 years old, construction worker
Muteb Samir Khaims, Idlib Governorate, Idlib, 39 years old, construction worker: “Now we have information that the life there is very difficult, as our people said, they live under control of An-Nusra militants, they are obliged to pay an Islamic tax from every person every month. Everything we have, stores, land, for example, a tree of olives or pistachios, they made us pay for that, we paid money to Jehab An-Nusra.
If a person works all day long, he will not be able to buy food for his children at least not to be hungry, because it is very expensive and all the money we receive, we have to pay to Jabhat An-Nusra. If they don’t like the way they work, they won’t give them any humanitarian aid, which is international and intended for ordinary people.”
Ibrahim Hassan Mahmoud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, 58 years old, peasant
Ibrahim Hassan Mahmoud, Idlib Governorate, Harem, 58 years old, peasant: “Militants from the Juhad Idlib group blocked the area and didn’t allow anyone to enter and leave from there. We could eat only the food that we had at home. It lasted for four months.
A resident of Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate, on the phone
A resident of Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate, on the phone: “Life became very difficult now, everything is expensive, one gas cylinder for household needs costs 40,000 liras, bread is very expensive. If a person, for example, has three children and he works all day, he will not be able to buy at least food for one of them, for one child. Jabhat An-Nusra steal a lot of money, for example, if you buy bread or vegetables or fruits, you have to pay them money, this is for Jabhat An-Nusra, they get money for Jabhat An-Nusra.
After 9 p.m., any person who is driving a car or walking outside in the street, they can stop him on his way and either steal the car or steal everything in the car. Ordinary civilians live very poorly, except for those who join Jabhat Al-Nusra, or fight on their side. These people’s life is pretty good. The militants stole all the metals which contained brass, and sold them to Turkey. If they see a child and this child has some staff made of brass, they will punish him.