Under Daesh, house transferred into Yazidi women’s jail

AMMAR AL-KHALAF / AL-RAQQA

During the occupation of IS mercenaries of al-Raqqa city, they used civilians’ houses as private prisons, especially out of sight, to carry out their criminal acts, one of these houses is the house of Mazlouh Ibrahim in Sheikh al-Jumma village of the southern countryside of al-Raqqa city.

The house was characterized by its remote location and dense trees, where IS mercenaries used the house as a special prison for Yazidi women who were abducted during the massacre committed by the mercenaries in Şengal in 2014, after the mercenaries expelled the owner of the house on various charges, also IS  mercenaries had prevented farmers from cultivating their lands.

IS mercenaries were practicing in this prison various kinds of psychological and physical torture against women, and women have tried on many occasions to escape from this prison, but their attempts failed because of the heavy guard imposed by mercenaries.

The residents of the area confirmed that the mercenaries had threatened to kill and crucify the people before the eyes of the people and to confiscate the property of any person suspected and any person trying to provide assistance to Yazidi women, on one occasion a 19-year-old tried to help the Yazidi women but the mercenaries discovered the citizen and killed him in front of the eyes of the people in the area.

Witnesses talk about the prison

"The mercenaries took control of civilians’ houses and used them as military barracks where the charges are fabricated on the grounds that they are dealing with the regime and the Free Army factions or with the Syrian Democratic Forces," he said.

"IS mercenaries were bringing women from that house and selling them in those markets to immigrant mercenaries," said Abdul Aziz al-Shalash, a resident of the city.

Many schools have turned into markets to sell women

IS mercenaries transferred the school "Sakina" of secondary girls, and, "Balqees school for girls to markets for the sale of women.

Residents confirmed that IS mercenaries were selling women to foreign "immigrants" in particular.

After the Syrian Democratic Forces launched the Wrath of Euphrates campaign to liberate al-Raqqa, IS mercenaries turned the prisons into military headquarters for them, and became the target of Syrian Democratic Forces and the strikes of the international alliance to fight ISIS.

H/S

ANHA