IS wears yellow

Exclusive – Raqqa is being slaughtered silently

Since the beginning of IS control over Raqqa, early in 2014, IS has worked to spread black flags over the province and impart its own identity over everything. IS also has tried to use people in any possible way such as taking taxes, seizing money and arrests under different pretexts, such as spying and joining free army or other factions.

June was a pivotal month in Raqqa province. Kurdish units were able to take over Tal Abiad city and the northern area of IS controlled areas, forcing IS to retreat about 50km away of Raqqa “one of the most important IS strongholds”, but the scene in the north did not changed, it even got worse. arrests are still going on and the looting and pillage of public funds continued on a larger scale, in addition to a systematic displacement operations proceeded by Kurdish factions.

Among the great similarities between IS and YPG, IS forced earlier the owners of motorbikes to change their motorbikes’ plates with different ones that have the number and the name of IS states, as well as to undergo driving lessons in order to get new driving license. YPG, just like IS, forced the people of northern region to change their cars’ plates to different ones with different numbers and the word “Kree Sbi” written on them which means “Tal Abiad” in kurdish. And forced who have a European car to register their cars and pay 76,000 SP at Abu Zawia police station, which gives the payers receipts form Rogge Urfa Customs “West of Kurdistan”.

Arbitrary actions committed by the Kurdish units towards the civilian continue. Locals say that they are the Yellow IS, referring to the yellow flag which represents YPG.

Arrests, looting of private property, displacement and even more in Raqqa. People of Raqqa suffered from all kind of radical ruling regimes, all of which promised to transfer the region to utopia, while everyone knows that they are two sides of the same coin.