The moment one woman ditched the symbol of ISIS oppression by throwing off her niqab after her village is liberated in Syria

By SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE

• Several towns and villages in northern Syria, liberated from ISIS this week
• ISIS's strict dress code dictated women be covered head to toe in black
• Women are celebrating by wearing colours and ditching the niqab
• See more Syria news as liberated Syrian ditches symbol of ISIS oppression

This is the joyful moment a woman literally casts off ISIS rule by taking off her terrorist-imposed black niqab in front of fellow liberated villagers in northern Syria.

The strict dress code implemented by ISIS in their conquered areas in Syria and Iraq dictates that all women be covered from head to toe in black, covering their faces with a veil.

Images of women celebrating their freedom by no longer covering their faces in black veils are flowing out of Aleppo, where several villages and towns have been liberated from ISIS this week.

The unnamed woman is seen cheering as she removes the full-face black niqab to reveal a bright purple hijab underneath.

Other women in the village on the outskirts of Manbij, Aleppo, stand next to her, all wearing coloured dresses with their hands and faces exposed.

On Thursday, Khadija Abdu Al-Muotee from liberated Abu Qalqal, south of Manbij, also cast off the ISIS rules, and swore to never wear black again.

'Now I will only wear red!' an exhilarated Mrs Abdu Al-Muotee told Ara News after her town in northern Syria was freed from ISIS this week.

Celebrating the freedom of her home, Mrs Abdu Al-Muotee can be seen wearing a red leopard-print hijab decorated with flowers over a leopard-print dress with red patterns.

'They forced us to cover our faces with the Islamic veil and threatened to kill us,' she adds.

Video from Abu Qalqal shows women and children dressed in colourful clothes and adults no longer covering their faces in full niqab.

The crowd can be heard chanting 'We are freed! We are freed!'

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab alliance, have liberated several villages and small towns on the edges of Manbij, cutting of an important supply route.

Manbij is strategic town held by IS that serves as a waypoint between the Turkish border and ISIS's self-declared 'capital' of Raqqa.

ISIS has come under growing pressure on various fronts in Syria and Iraq, where it established its self-declared 'caliphate' in 2014.

The extremists lost control Friday of a vital supply artery when Arab-Kurdish forces completely surrounded a key jihadist-held town.

'The SDF cut off the last road from Manbij to the Turkish border,' said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.

Manbij lies at the heart of the last stretch of territory along Turkey's border still under IS control, and was a key point on the jihadists' supply line from Turkey.

Other secondary roads to the frontier are more dangerous and difficult to access, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The US envoy to the anti-IS coalition backing the SDF, Brett McGurk, confirmed the road had been severed.

'ISIL terrorists now completely surrounded with no way out,' he wrote on Twitter, using another acronym for ISIS.

This week the SDF, backed by coalition air strikes, cut the road north out of Manbij to the IS-held border town of Jarabulus, which the jihadists had used as a transit point for fighters, money and weapons.

The SDF also blocked the road south out of Manbij heading to IS's de facto capital of Raqa.

'For the jihadists to reach the Turkish border from Raqa, they now have to take a route that is more dangerous because of regime troops nearby and Russian air strikes,' Abdel Rahman said.

Russia launched air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria in September.

Thousands of residents have fled Manbij - held by IS since 2014 - but jihadists who evacuated their families stayed to defend the town, the Observatory said.

About 20,000 people are still living in the town, which had a pre-war population of about 120,000 -- mostly Arabs, but about a quarter Syrian Kurds.

Last month, the SDF launched attacks on two fronts from the north of Raqa province towards Manbij and in direction of the IS-held town of Tabqa on the same vital supply line further south.

Regime troops backed by Russian air strikes have also pushed an offensive to the southwest of Tabqa.

Moscow and Washington -- despite backing different sides in Syria's five-year conflict -- have both focused efforts on fighting the jihadist group.

Syria's war has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

IS abducts 150 Christians, rapes and kills women, a "tragic situation" for vicar to Aleppo

A steady stream of horrific stories is coming out of jihadist-held areas. Terrorists hold hundreds of Christians, including seniors and children. For apostolic nuncio to Damascus, "Christians feel abandoned". There is "blood everywhere" and everyone is suffering. He believes that the war on terrorism is pointless but oil, "financial and military supplies" should be cut off.

Asianews.it

Damascus (AsiaNews) - Initial "reports mentioned 90 people abducted but for others the actual number is greater, perhaps 150. A church was destroyed, at least three Assyrian villages have been occupied and people have had to flee. We do not have accurate information, but the initial evidence points to a tragic situation," said Mgr Georges Abou Khazen, Latin apostolic vicar to Aleppo.

The prelate spoke to AsiaNews about Monday's attack by the Islamic State group against Assyrian villages like Tel Tamar, Tel Shamiran, Tel Hermuz, Goran Tel and Tel Khareta, in north-eastern Syria. Jihadists reportedly raped a woman and then murdered her, but the information could not be confirmed.

Whilst everyone is suffering, "Christians feel they have been abandoned," said Mgr Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio to Damascus.

Bassam Ishak, president of the Syriac National Council, reports that latest figure for abducted Christians is at least 150, more than the early figure of 90. They were taken in Al-Hasakah Governorate, north-east of the country, where Assyrian Christian communities have lived for centuries.

Some reports indicate that Islamic State militants killed some hostages. "Jihadists have taken a lot of people, including women, the elderly and children," said a local source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. "They burnt their houses, and torched a church." And "At least six" people were killed. The terrorists "also raped a woman before killing her."

The Syriac Military Council, a Christian paramilitary organisation, said that the IS attack on Christian villages was an act of revenge following jihadist defeat in Kobane and other villages in the area, following the Peshmerga offensive and international coalition air strikes.

The apostolic nuncio in Damascus agrees. "They came down from the mountains around 3 am Monday morning, and attacked an area largely inhabited by Assyrian-Nestorian," he told AsiaNews.

This a "high risk area." Some "four or five months ago, I received a text message from the bishop of Hassakah, in which he warned that the danger of a jihadist invasion was high."

After they were pushed out of Kobane, "they shifted to these villages to seize more land," Mgr Zenari explained. Now Christians feel abandoned, he added. However, everyone has suffered. "I see blood everywhere, in the cities, in the neighbourhoods. The desert has changed colour. It is no longer golden yellow but blood red."

The prelate said he hopes that "sooner or later reason will prevail" and "the war will end. It must end" even though at present, "we are still in the middle of winter, not some Arab Spring."

Addressing directly the West and the international community, the apostolic vicar to Aleppo warned emphatically that "military action against the Islamic state is not the right way" to solve the crisis and restore peace and security to Syria and Iraq. "I never believed in war because it creates more hatred and division," he explained.

"The West claims that it is fighting these groups," the prelate said. "Yet, it helps them too. Who is buying their oil? Who is selling them weapons? Who is involved in trafficking of priceless archaeological artefacts?"

For Mgr Abou Khazen, there is a lot of "hypocrisy" in the fight against the terrorists. "This will not be solved with bombs; cutting financial and military supplies will. What we ask is for others to stop supporting these people, to stop selling them weapons. We have been saying this for some time but no one has been listening to us."

The attacked Assyrian community, he said, has lived "in the area for thousands of years with its own ancient traditions and rites. Defenceless, its members have been uprooted. Campaigns are undertaken to save animals threatened by extinction to allow them to live in their habitat. But what is being done for us," he laments.

Christians are gripped by a sense of fear, Mgr Georges noted. "Many want to run away and this is a very dangerous sign. Removing Christianity from these lands would be a tragedy for everyone. Maybe the aim is to create another Afghanistan, in the hands of new Taliban".

"This is our reading of the situation," the prelate said. "They want to empty the Middle East of its Christians and create many small confessional states."

"We Christians are the only ones spread across the territories of Syria and Iraq. We are the only ones who defend national unity and uphold the principle of pluralism . . . something that they increasingly want to destroy." (DS)

'Raped and forced to give blood to jihadi captors': Yazidi sex slave held by ISIS with her baby reveals how they forced girls to give transfusions to keep wounded fighters alive

• First Yazidi sex slave to bravely reveal her identity exposes horror of ISIS
• Hamshe describes being held captive by jihadis with her young baby boy
• The 19-year-old was seized after her husband was murdered by militants
• She says: 'They forced Yazidi girls to give blood to wounded fighters'
• BBC Arabic investigation finds pioneering activist tracking hundreds of kidnapped victims

By Larisa Brown For Mailonline

A pregnant teenager who was captured by Islamic State militants has revealed how girls are being forced to give blood transfusions to keep their attackers alive.

Hamshe – who is understood to be the first Yazidi slave to reveal her identity – has told of how sickening Islamist jihadists have been using the blood of captured women and children for wounded fighters in the battlefield.

The 19-year-old, who also has a baby with her husband who is believed to have been murdered by militants, was held captive for 28 days before she escaped.

She said: 'When each of them took a Yazidi girl, one of them took me to his house and locked me inside a room and told me 'I will not give you food or water if you refuse to marry me'.'

'They forced the Yazidi girls to donate blood to IS wounded fighters. Which God allows these acts?'

Dressed in all black and wearing a headscarf while slumped on a dirty floor in Iraq, she described how she managed to run away from her captors while holding her baby.

'One night my baby was crying from thirst. I knocked at the door and saw all the guards sleeping outside. I took a bottle of water from them and I ran away with my baby and walked for four hours', she said.

She said she came across an Arab man who took her into his home and looked after her for three days. She added: 'Then they drove me to a Peshmerga checkpoint in Barda Rash. I was at the checkpoint for 7 hours. Then my brother came and took me back home.'

Her mother added: 'I couldn't imagine that my daughter will come back. We thank God for that. Our family is destroyed. The Yazidi community has been destroyed.

'This tragedy has done us enough damage for the rest of our lives.'

Speaking of the moment she was captured by IS militants and moved to a different location in Iraq, Hamshe added: ‘I can never forget when they separated men and women from each other. It was very painful to witness women and girls being taken as a war spoils.

‘Each IS fighter was holding the hand of a Yazidi girl and took her for himself. It was harder than facing death.’

Her plight – and that of many others – is revealed in a new documentary, Slaves of the Caliphate, which will screen on BBC Arabic tonight.

Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2906312/I-raped-forced-blood-jihadi-captors-Yazidi-sex-slave-held-ISIS-baby-reveals-forced-girls-transfusions-wounded-fighters-alive.html

Bosnian imam attacked seven times over call to stay out of Syria

Daily Star

TRNOVI, Bosnia-Herzegovina: The long-bearded man burst into the mosque’s yard and pinned Selvedin Beganovic to the ground. Shouting “Now I will slaughter you!” he plunged a knife three times into the imam’s chest and fled.

It was no random attack: Beganovic has suffered seven assaults blamed on Muslim extremists in the past year – with three just last month.

The apparent reason for the jihadi wrath? Beganovic uses his pulpit to tell the faithful in predominantly Muslim Bosnia they have no business fighting in Syria or Iraq. And he vows to keep preaching the message no matter how many times extremists try to silence him.

“That is not our war,” the imam told the Associated Press in his small northwestern town. “Our jihad in Bosnia is the fight against unemployment. The care for our parents who have small pensions. The care for the socially jeopardized.”

Some 150 Bosnians have joined Islamist militants in Syria or Iraq, officials estimate, with many fighting for the jihadi group ISIS. All are apparently members of a small community that follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam. Last month, a court in Bosnia charged a man believed to be the spiritual leader of the group with recruiting Bosnians to fight with Islamist militants in Syria and organizing a terrorist group.

Beganovic, who preaches every week to a full mosque, tells his followers that groups like ISIS are spreading a “perverted” version of Islam. “When did [the Prophet] Mohammad ever behead anyone? When did he take a knife and slaughter an innocent journalist?”

Of Islam’s 99 names for God – including The Mighty and The Avenger – the ones Beganovic likes most are The Exceedingly Merciful and The Exceedingly Gracious.

“That is what we teach our children here,” he said.

Dragan Lukac, the director of federal police, blamed fighters returning from Syria’s front lines for the attacks against Beganovic, which include severe beatings and knife slashes to the face, shoulders and hands. Investigators are still hunting for the attacker in last week’s knife assault.

“Every person who comes back from that front line is a danger,” Lukac said. “These people are able to perform attacks on citizens, on property, on state institutions.”

Militant Islam was all but unknown to Bosnia’s mostly secular Muslim population until the 1990s Balkans wars when Arab mercenaries turned up to help the outgunned Bosnian Muslims fend off Serb attacks. These fighters, many of whom settled in Bosnia, embraced a radical version of Islam that Bosnia’s official Muslim community opposes.

The community’s leader, Husein Kavazovic, has repeatedly warned Bosnians not to fall for extremist rhetoric aimed at pulling them into the fight in Syria.

“Our job is to keep repeating, to keep warning that this is evil and cannot be justified,” he said.

That’s exactly what Beganovic has been doing – at the risk of his life.

“These are dangerous people,” he said. “Their place is in a mental institution.”

- See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Jan-06/283169-bosnian-imam-attacked-seven-times-over-call-to-stay-out-of-syria.ashx#sthash.skcnVG5V.dpuf

Nusra Front executes Syrian for 'insulting prophet'

Agence France Presse

BEIRUT: Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch Wednesday executed a man it accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammad, in a summary killing mirroring those by ISIS, activists said Wednesday.

Nusra Front militants shot dead the civilian, identified as Mohammad al-Mir, in the town of Irbin, just northeast of the capital Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The man had been accused of "insulting the Prophet Mohammad and his family," said the Britain-based monitoring group.

Nusra has regularly executed members of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, but has rarely been accused of carrying out such killings on religious grounds.

It pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in April, distancing itself from the Sunni extremist ISIS notorious for summarily executing those it accuses of apostasy.

"We are all used to seeing ISIS doing this, but now it seems that other groups like Al-Nusra Front are following in their footsteps, and are terrorizing the population," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

In December 2013, ISIS jihadis executed a Syrian boy accused of blasphemy, sparking protests in the northern city of Aleppo and condemnation from activists and Assad's opponents.

The group has since gained infamy for its near-daily executions -- often beheadings -- in areas that it co-opted, and for publicly committing some of the worst atrocities in Syria's war.

Until recently, many Syrian activists and rebels seeking Assad's overthrow had considered Nusra Front to be less radical than ISIS.

In many areas of the war-torn country, Nusra Front members and rebel fighters have fought side by side against forces loyal to Assad.

But in recent weeks, particularly after the launch of US-led strikes against jihadi positions in Syria in late September, Nusra Front has started mobilizing to expel rivals from areas out of government control.

Less than a month ago, Nusra pushed out Syrian rebels from most of their positions in the northwestern province of Idlib.

"The killing in Irbin shows us what Nusra Front is really about," said the Observatory's Abdel Rahman.

"The execution violates not only human rights, but also proves once again that Nusra's agenda has absolutely nothing to do with the Syrian people's desire for democracy," he added.

Syria's war began as a peaceful movement demanding Assad's ouster, but later evolved into a war after the regime unleashed a massive crackdown against dissent.

Nusra released its first statement in January 2012, and has since claimed responsibility for the majority of suicide attacks that have struck the country in the past three years.

The group has been classed by the United States since 2012 as a "terrorist" organisation.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Nov-26/279003-nusra-front-executes-syrian-for-insulting-prophet.ashx#ixzz3KJRVUciz
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German bikers unite with Dutch comrades in fight against ISIS

RT.COM

Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria have received a surprising accession. While allied forces refuse to take part in military action on the ground, several German bikers have reportedly joined the fight against the jihadists.

Kawan A., the club leader of the 'Median Empire’ gang, wrote on his Facebook: “While others blabber on, our guys are at the front and fighting against ISIS,” stating that at least two of the group's members are fighting alongside Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Founded by Kurdish Germans, Cologne’s Median Empire is a biker gang named after an ancient community which extended from eastern Turkey to India in the VIII century B.C.

The gang also posted pictures of its members alongside Peshmerga fighters.

In April and June this year, the German bikers – whose ideology is based on the Medes legends that describe them as “fearless and mounted warriors” – organized aid missions to supply Syrian Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq with medicaments, food, and humanitarian aid.

However, the German bikers' participation in the fight against ISIS militants is trumped by an estimated 300 jihadists who left Germany to join the Islamic State and other militants in Syria.

Median Empire is not the first European biker gang to fight against the militants; three members of the Dutch motorcycle club 'No Surrender' are now in the Mosul region of Iraq, leading and training a Kurdish battalion in its fight against ISIS, according to Klaas Otto, the head of the gang, who spoke to BBC.

He added that the trio are ex-military – two marines and one soldier – who were pushed into action by the cruelty exhibited by ISIS.

“They wanted to do something when they saw the pictures of the beheadings,” the leader of No Surrender told Dutch public broadcaster NOS.

Security services both in the Netherlands and in Germany have been trying to prevent their citizens from traveling to the Middle East to support the Islamic State jihadists.

However, the Dutch prosecutor's spokesman, Wim de Bruin, told AFP: “Joining a foreign armed force was previously punishable, now it's no longer forbidden. You just can't join a fight against the Netherlands.”

But the bikers will not be able to join the Kurdish Workers’ Party, which is banned as a terrorist organization by the EU and the US.

 READ MORE: Bikers v ISIS? Dutch motorcycle gang gets green light to fight Islamic State

Syria's foreign jihadis: Where do they come from?

By Richard Allen Greene and Inez Torre, CNN

At least two Americans have been killed in Syria, and the video of James Foley's beheading is narrated by a man who seems to have a London accent, raising fears about the number of American and British Muslims going to fight in Syria. But do the U.S. and UK have the greatest problems? CNN crunched the numbers from 25 countries that have given official estimates of how many have gone to fight.

More than 11,000 people have traveled from abroad to fight in Syria, officials suggest, although some have gone back home again. They ally themselves with different factions, and sometimes change loyalties as groups merge, disband or change allegiances. Naturally, countries with bigger Muslim populations tend to send the largest number of fighters. Viewing this on mobile? Click here to see a larger version of this map.

But some countries with relatively small Muslim populations have sent a disproportionately large number of jihadis. Finland and Ireland have the highest number of foreign fighters per capita -- nearly one per 1,400 Muslims living in those countries has gone to Syria. Viewing this on mobile? Click here to see a larger version of this map.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but tiny numbers of fighters going to Syria. And even countries closer to the conflict such as Turkey, Algeria and Morocco have sent relatively few. (Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, which all have more Muslims than any country other than Indonesia, have not issued official estimates of how many of their citizens, if any, have gone to Syria.) Viewing this on mobile? Click here to see a larger version of this map.

All 25 countries in the study

Britain and France have comparable percentages of local Muslims going to fight in Syria -- just over one in 6,000 British Muslims and one in 6,666 French Muslims have gone to Syria, governments say. The figures in the Netherlands are not far off, around one in 7,700. American Muslims are going to Syria at a much lower rate, closer to one in 25,000. Viewing this on mobile? Click here to see a larger version of this table.

Malaysians fighting in Syrian war

Five young Malays have joined an al-Qaeda splinter group, says a source.
EXCLUSIVE

KUALA LUMPUR: At least five young Malaysians are fighting alongside a radical Islamic group in Syria to oust Bashar al Assad’s regime, according to a source who claims to have met one of them.

Speaking on condition of anonymity in a recent FMT interview, the source said all five were Malays below the age of 25 and had no military training before they joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a group that broke away from al-Qaeda last February and is currently active in Syria and Iraq.

“The only number I can confirm is five, but there could be more,” he said. “They come from different backgrounds. Not all of them went to religious school. Some decided to join the war after learning of the Assad regime’s cruelty through news articles and video clips on the Internet.”

He said he met one of the fighters recently when he returned to Malaysia for a brief family visit.

ISIL, also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), believes in the strict enforcement of Syariah law. Its aim is to create a Sunni Islamic state covering Iraq and Syria’s eastern desert provinces.

Asked if he knew which organisation in Malaysia was recruiting jihadists for Syria, the source said he had no such information.

“I was told they have meetings here, but I don’t know exactly where they meet and what they discuss. I don’t even know if there is one group or more and I don’t know how they operate in Malaysia.

“My informant was secretive. He said such information could be revealed only to people committed to the cause.”

Turkish connection

However, the source said he did learn that the five jihadists met in Kuala Lumpur before taking a commercial flight to Turkey.

“They entered Turkey with normal visas and then they walked through the border into Syria. I don’t know how far they had to walk.”

According to Western European and Russian intelligence, part-time jihadists often go in and out of Syria across the Turkish border because of its proximity to the battle zone.

A high ranking official at Bukit Aman police headquarters told FMT “certain groups” were being monitored for suspected militant activities.

However, he said authorities could not stop anyone from flying out of the country because there was no law against that.

“We cannot stop them from flying out, and when they come back after completing their mission, they cannot be arrested. There is no law for that.”

In the past two days, Malaysian police have arrested 10 people suspected of planning militant attacks inside and outside the country.

They were arrested near Kuala Lumpur and in Kedah.

Police said they had received military-style training and were raising funds for attacks in Malaysia and other countries.

It is not clear whether any group responsible for recruiting jihadists for Syria is involved in the alleged plot.

Marriages of shame

Child marriages among Syrian refugees have turned into a lucrative business

Sahar* wished she could slap that Saudi sheikh, just like she had slapped taxi drivers asking her to provide them with young Syrian girls. But instead she just said “no” and told him that if he shows up at that mosque again she will cut his beard. Then she says she left, slamming the door. It wasn’t just an accident, neither was it just one sheikh who asked her to serve as a matchmaker.

A few months later, another Saudi sheikh approached her at the mosque: He wanted a young Syrian girl to marry and he was wondering whether she could find him a bride, for a fee, of course. Sometimes she gets such proposals from taxi drivers. “Once, I was in a taxi and the driver approached me. There was this Lebanese sheikh who wanted to marry a Syrian girl. ‘He will give you money, and he will also give that woman money,’ he told me. I slapped him, as usual,” she recalled.

Sahar is a conservative Muslim. She wears a hijab, she dons an abaya, she goes to the mosque. “I am a good girl, I am trustworthy. They feel they can trust me with that,” she explains. “If I agree to sell a girl, maybe some other woman would sell me against my will.”

But not many think like Sahar does. Young women get sold off for a week to men willing to pay. Taxi drivers ask around about young girls aged 16-17; deals are made in the streets of Tripoli. “I have refused to do this, but many people don’t.”

Some people make a business out of trafficking women for rich foreigners, says Ayman Hariri, a Syrian activist who settled in Akkar in 2011 when he had to flee Daraa fearing arrest. He used to run an NGO that provided aid for Syrian refugees, but he decided to close it down. Trying to provide aid is difficult, with some aid organizations using their small NGOs to sell 16-year-old girls to their Gulf sponsors in exchange for money.

“I can tell you about someone I know, I met him in person and he offered to bribe me. He posed as a sheikh with a Saudi benefactor. People soon found out his organization was actually what you call a whorehouse: He was getting girls for the Saudi sheikh. If he liked the girl, he would offer $10,000, he would marry her for a week, and then she would go back home with $1,000. The rest was given to the so-called Lebanese sheikh, who now owns a building and has several cars,” Hariri explains.

He says that Akkar is not like the Zaatari camp in Jordan, and the arranged marriages and cloaked prostitution aren’t nearly as frequent. “Jordan is closer to the Gulf, where girl-brides and early marriage are more common. Lebanon is farther away.”

But international organizations and NGOs in Lebanon say early marriage happens among the Syrian refugees as well as host communities. Stopping it is almost impossible, because Lebanese law allows child marriage, sociologist Rafif Rida Sidawi told NOW. “The Lebanese family code allows marriage for girls as young as 13-14. In some confessions, even as young as 9.” (Lebanon has 15 different family codes, almost one for each sect. Many of them allow child marriage.)

A Lebanese sheikh who requested to remain anonymous told NOW that he would never marry a girl under 13, although the law tells him that the minimum age is 9. “I need to see the girl, to see if she’s ready. I also need a medical certificate, and the father’s permission,” he explained.

Most NGOs that deal with women’s rights in Lebanon are concerned by the increasing number of early marriages among Syrian refugees. According to UNHCR’s refugee response plan, 10% of Syrian refugee women and Lebanese women in host communities have been exposed to gender-based violence, including early marriage, rape, and domestic violence. To cope with poverty, Syrian girls are married off very early, sometimes for money, sometimes for protection. The family simply can’t afford to support them and they find a husband to share the burden.

“It doesn’t mean that early marriage did not take place in Syria before the war, but the difference is that now it has become a business, a trade. It turned into trafficking,” Roula al-Masri, Gender Equality Programme Manager at ABAAD-Resource Center for Gender Equality, told NOW. “They tend to sell their daughters for the husband to take care of the entire family or pay the rent… It’s a coping mechanism. And it is highly discriminatory, because they think that even if the girls were educated, they would never contribute to the economy of the family,” she explains. (Al-Masri’s association is one of the few in Lebanon which provides shelter for Syrian women who were victims of gender-based violence, including early marriage.) She says the women who get to the three shelters are always afraid that somehow they are going to be exposed, and they demand strict confidentiality.

“They don’t talk about this. The families don’t talk about this. The girls don’t talk about this,” Sahar told NOW as she put her hand over her mouth to show how obstinate people’s silence is. “It’s shameful for them,” Sahar explains.

Shame is a big thing, says Sahar. Shame makes people do horrible things.

“I will never forget this little girl in Wadi Khaled,” Sahar almost whispers, trying to regain her voice while her eyes fill with tears. Sahar found this girl locked by her family in the bedroom. She was assessing aid needs when she heard her crying. The men were not at home. The mother was too scared to speak, the little girl’s body bruised, her face burnt. She had been beaten up by six Syrian soldiers when they attacked their house in Baba Amr, in Homs. “When the doctor came, we found out that she had been raped. Only she had no idea that what had happened to her was rape. She thought they were hitting her. Her father and brother then burnt her face.”

What happens when a young girl like this gets married off to an older man? Is she any different than that girl in Wadi Khaled who was raped by six men, without even knowing she was being raped? Are these sheikhs any better than those six Syrian soldiers? These are questions Sahar says she can’t answer. But she will continue to slap taxi drivers and slam doors in sheikhs’ faces, wishing that other women like her find the strength to do the same.

“These men are nothing,” she says, pointing her chin at the floor. “Men are weak.”

Luna Safwan contributed with reporting and translation. 

Ana Maria Luca is on twitter @aml1609.

*Sahar is not the interviewee’s real name. It was changed for security reasons. 

Cannibalism In Syria Causes An Extremely Rare Disease

By Theodore Shoebat 

Its called Kuru, an extremely rare disease which virtually became extinct after extinguishing cannibalism in Papua New Guinea. Amazingly Kuru has now been found in 8 to 20 people, out of all places, in war-torn Syria, and the only way it could have come about, doctors confirmed, is through cannibalism and the consumption of human brain, as first reported by Arabian news source Zaman al-Wasal and substantiated by Orient News Television.

Here is a documentary showing the connection between native sorcery, ritualized cannibalism, and its end result, Kuru:


Two of the infected were sent from Syria to a hosptial in Ghazi Antab in Turkey for further examination to only be transferred to another hospital in Germany. One of the two already died, since Kuru is 100% fatal. Kuru is contagious and has symptoms of skin ulcers and worms, and according to a piece on the New York Times,

Kuru is a very rare disease. It is caused by an infectious protein (prion) found in contaminated human brain tissue.

Kuru is found among people from New Guinea who practiced a form of cannibalism in which they ate the brains of dead people as part of a funeral ritual.

One of the infected men in the German hospital was confirmed to have eaten human flesh, and he eventually died. When the Turkish hospital was asked on the details of the cannibalism case, they refrained from saying anything.

Moreover, the Free Syrian Army said they will be doing an investigation on the cannibalism case, and this sparks a hunch as to what their intentions are behind this.

Overall, there are 8 to 20 cases of Kuru in Syria; Kuru strictly is caused by cannibalism, and cannibalism was involved from the report on what took place in the German hospital.

In past studies, it was established that in the area of Fore in Paupa New Guinea, Kuru was transmitted due to “ritualistic mortuary cannibalism.”

It is quite possible that this is what commenced the infection, in that the jihadists began to eat the flesh of their enemies.

Cannibalism is not beyond the nature of the Muslim rebels, here is a video of a Syrian jihadist eating a lung:

Half of Syria living in poverty: UN

7.9m people have become poor since 2011; economic devastation wrought by war could be felt for years to come

Image Credit: Reuters A Free Syrian Army fighter starts a fire to make coffee in the old city of Aleppo on Thursday. Economic devastation wrought by the conflict could be felt for years to come, according to a report commissioned by UN agencies.

 

Damascus: Syria’s war has destroyed livelihoods and collapsed the economy, leaving more than half the country’s population in poverty, according to a report commissioned by UN agencies this month.

Some 115,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the war broke out in 2011, and the report warned that the economic devastation wrought by the conflict could be felt for years to come.

“More than half the population now live in poverty, with 7.9 million people becoming poor since the beginning of the crisis, of whom 4.4 million now live in extreme poverty,” the report said.

Unemployment has soared to 48.6 per cent, education in Syria “is in the midst of a silent disaster” with 49 per cent of children out of school, and the health sector faces “significant collapse,” it warned.

Syria: Reported fatwa allows the hungry to eat cats and dogs

(CNN) -- Muslims throughout the world have been marking Eid al-Adha, but in war-torn Syria there is little to celebrate as most people struggle to meet their basic needs: food, water, and shelter.

Their plight has been highlighted by Arabic media reports that cite a fatwa, or religious ruling, by a local imam that allows people who are desperately hungry to eat dogs and cats.

Eating dog, cat or donkey is forbidden under Islamic dietary laws.

The imam in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in the capital, Damascus, reportedly said at a mosque Friday that dog, cat and donkey meat could be eaten "after reaching a desperate need and the stores of food were inadequate to feed the population under the siege."

Yarmouk has been besieged for months by Syrian government forces seeking to flush out rebel fighters.

During the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of Islam's most revered observances, Muslims around the world sacrifice sheep and share the meat with the poor. It corresponds with the height of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that annually draws 2 million Muslims.

A YouTube video purports to show a group of religious leaders outside Damascus issuing a fatwa permitting the eating of cats, kittens, donkeys, and animals killed in shelling.

The man reading the statement appeals to the world, and particularly to Muslims who are completing the Hajj pilgrimage, to think of the Syrian children "dying of hunger" while the viewers' stomachs are full.

"How can't they just stand for us, for our children?" the sheikh asks. "Do they want us to get to the point when we are forced to eat the flesh of our dead martyrs and our beloved just to survive?"

CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video.

Syria's war: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reflects on front line reports

'We are living in despair'

At the Atmeh refugee camp in Idlib province in northern Syria, some refugees set up improvised vendor stands for the celebration -- but drew few customers who could afford their goods.

"Before the crisis, during Eid, we used to go to the shops and buy items, we were happy," said Suad Zein. "Eid was a wonderful holiday here. Now these days I can't even buy my boy a pair of trousers, or shoes, or even a loaf of bread.

"I have eight children. I can't support them all. We are living in despair."

Said another: "We have nothing to celebrate. We used to celebrate with food, drink, desserts. We used to make pastries. ... Now there's nothing."

Some refugees in Aleppo, Syria, were more fortunate. A benefactor donated sheep for the traditional animal sacrifice, which were to be slaughtered and distributed among families in need, a man in charge of the slaughter said.

The U.N. food agency, the World Food Programme, warned last month that the violence in Syria was making it hard to get aid to those in need. It estimated that 4 million people in the country were unable to produce or buy enough food.

Eid al-Adha commemorates when God appeared in a dream to Abraham -- known as Ibrahim to Muslims -- and asked him to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience. As Abraham was about to perform the sacrifice, God stopped him and gave him a sheep to kill in place of his son. Versions of the story also appear in the Torah and in the Bible's Old Testament.

The four-day celebration is also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, or Greater Eid. It is the longer of two Eid holidays observed by Muslims. Eid al-Fitr, or Little Eid, follows the holy month of Ramadan.

Asma al-Assad makes rare appearance

A rare interview with Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, aired Tuesday on Syrian state TV, showing her as she visited the Daughters of Martyrs' school in Damascus.

The first lady, wearing a gray sweater with the Syrian flag in the center, is shown being greeted with applause from dozens of Syrian girls and planting olive trees with them.

The olive tree is a symbol of giving and peace, she says, as well as "a symbol of life and endurance, those who sacrificed and are sacrificing for this homeland are doing that for us so we can live and prosper in this land."

The interviewer asks Asma al-Assad, who lived in Britain before her marriage to Syria's president, about past rumors that she had left the war-torn country for Russia, Lebanon or Britain.

Smiling, she replies, "I am here, I exist here. My husband and my children are present here in Syria. It is quite rational for me to be here with them. And just like the majority of the Syrians, I was raised to love the homeland and I grew up with that notion that wherever I'd travel or lived before, and no matter how long people stay away, there is nothing more precious than the homeland."

The first lady has also been a star of the recently established Instagram account of the Syrian presidency, where she is seen smiling, showing off her volunteer work and attending social events with her husband.

Activists: Truck carrying civilians hit

Syria's descent into civil war began in March 2011, when Bashar al-Assad's regime cracked down on peaceful anti-government protesters.

That conflict spiraled into an armed uprising and a crisis that the United Nations says has claimed more than 100,000 lives.

On Wednesday, at least 53 people -- including 13 children and four women -- were killed nationwide, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported.

Four children and six women were among the fatalities in a blast in Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 21 people died when their truck was hit by an explosive device in southern Syria, opposition activists said.

The truck carrying civilians was hit as it passed through an area controlled by troops loyal to the Syrian government, the group said. Government officials did not immediately respond to the allegation.

Two suicide bombers from the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra rebel group detonated themselves Wednesday afternoon inside the gates of Aleppo Central Prison, killing seven regime forces, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish army has reinforced its positions near a strategic border gate between Turkey and opposition-controlled northern Syria, where ISIS fighters have been active. Last month, ISIS fighters pushed more moderate Syrian rebels out of the nearby Syrian town of Azaz.

Weapons inspectors

As the war rages, international inspectors continue their mission to inventory and eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.

Experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, supported by the United Nations, have conducted verification activities at 11 sites identified by Syrian authorities, the OPCW said Wednesday.

They have overseen the destruction of "critical equipment" at six sites, as well as the destruction of some unloaded chemical weapons munitions, it said.

On Monday, Syria became bound by the international treaty banning chemical arms, the Chemical Weapons Convention, which is implemented by the OPCW.

A team of OPCW inspectors entered the country on October 1. The joint mission is tasked by a U.N. Security Council resolution with ridding the country of chemical weapons by mid-2014.

Precious Little Girl Dismembered While She Is Still Alive By Obama's Psychotic Syrian Rebels

Should the United States be allied with radical Islamic jihadists that dismember little girls while they are still alive?  That question sounds ridiculously absurd, but that is precisely what Barack Obama is proposing.  Obama wants the United States to go to war so that it will be easier for al-Qaeda Christian killers to take over Syria.  What you are about to read should absolutely shock you.  Please send it out to your friends and share it everywhere that you can. 
If America willingly sides with psychotic, murderous savages that behead little children, it will bring a curse upon our nation.  It is imperative that the American people be told the truth about this.

Mother Agnes Mariam el-Salib is a Catholic nun and mother superior of St. James Monastery in Qara, Syria.  She has been living in the country for about twenty years, and she has been very active in reporting what has actually been happening on the ground inside Syria.

Posted below is an excerpt from what she told RT the other day.  According to her, the Syrian rebels have been brutally beheading people wherever they go and they even dismembered one little girl with a frame saw while she was still alive…

In the village of Estreba they massacred all the residents and burnt down their houses. In the village of al-Khratta almost all the 37 locals were killed. Only ten people were able to escape.

A total of twelve Alawite villages were subjected to this horrendous attack. That was a true slaughterhouse. People were mutilated and beheaded. There is even a video that shows a girl being dismembered alive – alive! – by a frame saw. The final death toll exceeded 400, with 150 to 200 people taken hostage. Later some of the hostages were killed, their deaths filmed.

What Mother Agnes is saying lines up very well with what is being reported in major international publications such as the Daily Mail…

Terrified Christians claim Syrian rebels ordered them to convert to Islam on pain of death when they ‘liberated’ their ancient village.
Opposition forces, including fighters linked to Al Qaeda, gained temporary control of the Christian village of Maaloula after fighting with regime forces.
The reports have reignited fears about western support for the rebel groups, which are increasingly being infiltrated by Islamic extremists.

According to eyewitness accounts quoted in that same article, innocent Christian villagers are being given the choice to either convert on the spot or be summarily executed…

One Maaloula resident said the rebels, many of whom had beards and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great), attacked Christian homes and churches shortly after moving into the village.
‘They shot and killed people. I heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street in the old quarters of the village. Where is President Obama to see what has befallen us?’
Another Christian resident said: ‘I saw the militants grabbing five villagers and threatening them and saying, “Either you convert to Islam, or you will be beheaded”.’

And keep in mind that these psychotic Syrian rebels are doing this even though they know that the entire world is watching them.
So if this is how they are acting now, how bad would they be if they actually took power in Syria?
It is also very important to note that a high percentage of these “rebels” are actually foreigners.  In fact, as Business Insider reported back in January, a lot of them are actually death row inmates that Saudi Arabia set free and sent into Syria to wage jihad…

A leaked internal memo shows how Saudi officials commuted 1,200 death row inmates under the condition they go and fight against Assad in Syria, according to the Assyrian International News Agency.
From the memo:
We have reached an agreement with them that they will be exempted from the death sentence and given a monthly salary to their families and loved ones, who will be prevented from traveling outside Saudi Arabia in return for rehabilitation of the accused and their training in order to send them to Jihad in Syria.

Saudi officials apparently gave them a choice: decapitation or jihad? In total, inmates from Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Jordan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, and Kuwait chose to go and fight in Syria.
These are the people that Obama wants to assist?
Is he insane?
If the rebels win, they will set up a hardcore Sunni government that will impose sharia law on the entire nation of Syria.  This is a nation where Christians, Jews and various types of Muslims have been living together peacefully for centuries.
If the jihadists that Obama is supporting win, all of that will be gone.
A similar thing happened in Afghanistan.  We have spent more than a decade “nation building” in Afghanistan, and now they have a government where members of parliament argue that anyone that converts to Christianity should be killed…

Converts from Islam to Christianity should be killed according to Islamic law (shari’a), in a bid to stop the growth of Christianity among Afghans inside and outside the country, according to one leading member of parliament cited by the Afghan Voice Agency news service.
Mohabat News, an independent Iranian Christian news agency, reported on Sunday that Nazir Ahmad Hanafi said several weeks ago that “Afghani citizens continue to convert to Christianity in India. Numerous Afghanis have become Christians in India. This is an offense to Islamic laws and according to the Qur’an they need to be executed.”
Hanafi, an independent who represents the province of Herat, is a prominent lawmaker who heads the parliament’s Legislative Commission and reportedly received the third highest number of votes in the 2010 parliamentary election.

Is that what thousands upon thousands of Americans shed their blood for?
Are we about to make an even worse mistake in Syria?
The Syrian rebels are not our friends.  They even put up pictures depicting the destruction of the White House on their Facebook pages.  They are murderous, psychotic jihadists that are the enemy of everything that is true and good.
Please share this article with as many people as you can.  It is so important that we wake as many people up as we can before our government starts a war that it will not be able to stop.

Muhyiddin Puts Forward Malaysia's Views On Syria Crisis To UK Counterpart

From Abdul Aziz Harun

LONDON, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Russia's proposal that Syria place all its chemical weapons in the custody of an international body to avoid a possible attack from the United States, must be given due consideration before any military intervention takes place said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Tuesday.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia is worried that any military offensive against Syria would bring about a bigger tragedy.

The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister voiced his concern during a meeting with his counterpart from the United Kingdom (UK) Nick Clegg, here,Tuesday.

According to Muhyiddin, UK had also voiced a similar concern over the issue but UK's respond had a slight variation because of its long standing close relationship with the United States.

"The slight difference in (UK) opinion could be due to the close relationship between UK and the United States. But whatever difference in opinion, the main concern must be to try and solve the crisis in Syria through a more cordial manner," he told reporters after meeting Clegg at the Whitehall, here.

The Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to chair a roundtable meeting with captains of industry in the United Kingdom (UK) during his five-day working visit to London from Sunday.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia was saddened and disappointed that the crisis in Syria had prolonged and claimed many innocent life.

"If possible we would like to see the crisis resolved without any intervention," he said.

He said he would also seek the assistance of the British government to assist Malaysia's candidature to become a member of organisations under the United Nations to try and solve various issues and crisis throughout the world like non-permanent status in the UN Security Council, International Maritime Organisation, Human Rights Commission and etc.

"He (Clegg) said the British government would not normally make any open statements in support but I told him that UK's moral support was important to Malaysia and I saw that he was quite positive and he also wants to see how the Malaysia-UK relationship can be strengthened," he said.

Muhyiddin said the Egypt issue was also touched on during his meeting with Clegg, and according to the latter, the British government would always try and assist in solving the crisis in both countries.

-- BERNAMA

Syrian crisis: World waits to see if the U.S. will strike

(CNN) -- U.N. evidence that could show whether chemical weapons were used in Syria will head to a lab Monday, but to some, the answer may just be a formality.

The American president has already said there's no doubt Syria's government killed hundreds of civilians in a chemical weapon attack -- and he wants to go after the regime. Independent tests have revealed "signatures of sarin gas" in blood and hair samples from Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry said.

President Barack Obama wants Congress to sign off on limited strikes on Syrian targets -- but some lawmakers bristle at the idea of getting ensnared in another overseas conflict.

A lot is riding on what the United States decides to do. Britain has already voted against taking any military action on Syria, and France said it won't act without the United States as a partner.

That means if the United States wants to attack Syria, it may have to do it alone.

But Russia says it doesn't buy U.S. claims that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons.

"We absolutely were not convinced by that (evidence) that our American partners, as well as the British and the French, showed us," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

"There are no facts, there's only talk about what we know for certain. When we ask for more detailed evidence, they say, 'You know, it's all secret, so we can't show you.' That means that there are no such facts."

On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime asked the U.N. to step in.

"The Syrian government calls on the U.N. Secretary General to shoulder his responsibilities for preventing any aggression on Syria," the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

For now, Syria seems safe from U.N.-sanctioned hits. It's unlikely the U.N. Security Council will authorize military strikes against Syria because two of its members -- Russia and China -- have blocked all efforts to take action against their ally.

U.S. naval ships enter Red Sea

Five U.S. naval ships are being positioned in the Red Sea, a U.S. official said Monday.

A second official said the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is not expected to participate in combat operations over Syria, but that the ship is there for a greater U.S. military presence in the region -- even as the possibility of a U.S. missile strike appears to be delayed.

U.S. Marines site hacked

The pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army appears to have hacked the U.S. Marines recruitment website, marines.com, and posted a letter urging Marines not to attack Syria.

"Dear US Marines, This is a message written by your brothers in the Syrian Army, who have been fighting Al Qaeda for the last 3 years," the message states. "... Obama is a traitor who wants to put your lives in danger to rescue Al Qaeda insurgents."

The message ends by saying, " You're more than welcome to fight alongside our army rather than against it. Your brothers, the Syrian army soldiers. A message delivered by the SEA"

The waiting game

While British and U.S. intelligence reports say the August 21 attack involved chemical weapons, U.N. officials have stressed the importance of waiting for an official report from the U.N. chemical weapons inspectors.

The inspectors left Syria on Saturday, carrying evidence that will determine whether chemical weapons were used in the attack last month. But the U.N. won't give a date for when the testing would be completed.

"It's being done as fast as it is possible to do within the scientific constraints," said Martin Nesirky, spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Kerry: We must act

The independent test results from Syria have firmed up suspicions that al-Assad's regime killed civilians in opposition strongholds, the Obama administration said.

"We know that the regime ordered this attack, we know they prepared for it," Kerry said. "We know where the rockets came from. We know where they landed. We know the damage that was done afterwards. We've seen the horrific scenes all over the social media, and we have evidence of it in other ways, and we know that the regime tried to cover up afterwards, so the case is really an overwhelming case."

With "each day that goes by, this case is even stronger," he said, arguing that the United States must act.

"If you don't do it, you send a message of impunity," Kerry said. He said that could have a ripple effect on Iran, North Korea and Hezbollah.

Facing resistance

But the administration is facing resistance from lawmakers even before Congress officially comes back to Washington September 9.

About 100 members of the House and Senate came back early from recess for the briefing with top administration officials, according to members who attended the meeting. Many of those lawmakers - Republicans and Democrats alike - left the session skeptical and with major concerns about the language of the president's proposal.

While there have been no plans to put American boots on the ground, Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen said he wants to see an amendment that would prohibit American troops from being on the ground and a separate change that would put a firm expiration date on American action in the country.

Asking for support

Obama doesn't have to get Congress' approval to launch military action -- under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, a president can initiate an attack as long as he notifies Congress within 48 hours.

But that's a U.S. law. Internationally, an Obama-led strike against Syria could be deemed illegal.

The United Nations' charter generally doesn't allow countries to attack other nations unless in self-defense or with approval from the U.N. Security Council -- neither of which is the case in Syria.

To help fix the legal problem, the Obama administration asked Congress over the weekend to approve a proposed authorization for the use of military force.

Congressional approval wouldn't solve the problem with international law, a senior administration official said, but it would enhance the legitimacy of military action.

China: Don't act unilaterally

Chinese foreign affairs spokesman Hong Lei said China has noted the U.S. claim of chemical weapons evidence and that the United States has briefed China about the situation.

But Hong said he was worried about any possible unilateral action against Syria.

"We are gravely concerned that some country may take unilateral military actions," Hong said Monday. "We believe that any action taken by the international community should abide by the purposes and principles of the U.N. charter ... so to as to avoid complicating the Syrian issue and bringing more disasters to the Middle East region."

Why China, Russia and Iran are standing by the Syrian regime

Syria denies claims

The Syrian government has denied that it used chemical weapons in the August 21 attack, saying that jihadists fighting with the rebels used them in an effort to turn global sentiments against the regime.

Maria Saadeh, a member of Syria's parliament, told CNN on Sunday that she sees no justification for a U.S. strike on Syria.

"There is no legitimacy to make this attack," she said, accusing rebel groups of using chemical weapons and committing other crimes against humanity.

Reports: Sarin's been used in Syria before

World leaders have said previously that sarin has been used in the Syrian civil war.

In April, the United States said it had evidence sarin was used in Syria on a small scale.

In May, a U.N. official said there were strong suspicions that rebel forces used the deadly nerve agent.

In June, France said sarin had been used several times in the war, including at least once by the Syrian regime.

No end to the bloodshed

While world leaders grapple with what to do about Syria, the reports of carnage on the ground keep rising.

At least 118 people were killed across Syria on Sunday, including 13 children, the opposition group Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

The United Nations said more than 100,000 people -- including many civilians -- have been killed since a popular uprising spiraled into a civil war two years ago.

Al Nusrah Front imposes sharia in eastern Syrian town

The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, has imposed sharia, or Islamic Law, in a town in eastern Syria that is close to the Iraqi border. The area has served as a jihadist haven in the past.

"Islamist militants" from the Al Nusrah Front "have taken unclothed mannequins they see as sexually enticing out of the shops," in the town of Mayadin, Reuters reported. The al Qaeda affiliate has "also prevented women from wearing trousers, preferring that they adopt the shapeless head-to-toe black veil." Alcohol has also been banned in the town.

Al Nusrah Front fighters are providing "daily religious teaching" to children, and are recruiting teenaged boys to fight President Bashir al Assad's regime. Additionally, the group is making a profit by selling oil, even to members of the Assad regime.

The imposition of sharia in Mayadin by the Al Nusrah Front is eerily similar to al Qaeda in Iraq's activities in Anbar province and other areas in Iraq from 2004 to 2007. Taking advantage of the security vacuum that arose after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, al Qaeda in Iraq seized control of several towns and cities in western Iraq and declared Islamic emirates in towns like Haditha and Al Qaim, which is right on the Syrian border. The terror group immediately began to enforce its radical interpretation of Islamic law on Sunni tribesmen, who were too weak and disorganized to fight back.

Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters made women wear the veil, cut off the fingers of Iraqis who were caught smoking, and even forced produce sellers to separate cucumbers and tomatoes, as placing the two vegetables next to each other was deemed to represent the mixing of the sexes.

Additionally, al Qaeda in Iraq profited from smuggling and selling Iraq's oil. The group even named emirs to manage the sale of oil, which was in turn used to fund operations.

Eastern Syria a jihadist haven

Al Qaeda in Iraq, which created the Al Nusrah Front and directs its operations, has long had a presence in eastern Syria. With the help of the Syrian government, al Qaeda in Iraq used the region as a rear area to support attacks against US and Iraqi forces in Anbar province. After being driven out of its strongholds in northern, western, and central Iraq by the beginning of 2008, al Qaeda in Iraq refocused its efforts to build an infrastructure in eastern Syria [see LWJ report, Eastern Syria becoming a new al Qaeda haven, from November 2009].

Since the uprising in Syria began nearly two years ago, al Qaeda has re-tasked the network in eastern Syria to target the regime which once supported terrorist operations in Iraq, a US military intelligence official who follows al Qaeda in the region told The Long War Journal.

"AQI basically flipped the network; the tail [the support network in Syria] grew teeth, and is now biting the hand that fed it for years," the official said.

"This didn't happen by accident," the official continued. "Al Qaeda has been preparing to take advantage of the Arab Spring."

The town of Mayadin is close to Abu Kamal, which is on the border with Iraq's Anbar province. Abu Kamal and its vicinity has long served as a rear area for al Qaeda in Iraq. During a raid in October 2008, US special operations forces struck at al Qaeda's facilitation network in the town of Sukkariya near Abu Kamal in eastern Syria, just five miles from the Iraqi border. US troops killed Abu Ghadiya, al Qaeda's senior facilitator, and his senior staff in the raid.

In the city of Deir al Zour, which is about 20 miles north of Mayadin, the Al Nusrah Front has banded together with nine other Islamist groups to create the "Mujahideen Shura Council."

The Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al Zour was formed to "unite the ranks of the jihadi brigades in the Cause of Allah, organize the efforts and the attacks against the soldiers of disbelief and apostasy, and distinguish the ranks of truth from falsehood," according to a statement released by the group in December 2012. The statement was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"We call upon our sincere mujahideen brothers all over the strong Levant to unite their ranks in groups, pure of the filth of suspicious groups and the infiltration of people who have no qualities or faith, in order to clarify their banner and purify their path," the statement continued.

The Al Nusrah Front in Deir al Zour appears to be following al Qaeda in Iraq's strategy to unite disparate jihadist groups. In the summer of 2006, al Qaeda in Iraq also formed a Mujahideen Shura Council to coordinate operations with various jihadist groups operating in Iraq. Later that year, al Qaeda in Iraq formed the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) to serve as the political front, and the Mujahideen Shura Council was folded in under the ISI's military wing.

The Al Nusrah Front remains active in Deir al Zour. Just yesterday, the Al Nusrah Front, the Furqan Brigade, and "battalions from the revolutionary council of Deir al Zour" overran the "political intelligence branch" headquarters in the city after laying siege to the building for six months, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "[T]he building is considered one of the main bases for regime forces in the city," the human rights group stated on its Facebook page.

An al Qaeda affiliate

On Dec. 11, 2012, the US designated the Al Nusrah Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designation stated that the emir of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Du'a (a.k.a. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi), "is in control of both AQI and Al Nusrah."

At the same time, the US added two senior Al Nusrah leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab, both members of al Qaeda in Iraq, to the list of global terrorists; the US did not add the emir of Al Nusrah, Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, to the list, however. [See LWJ report, US adds Al Nusrah Front, 2 leaders to terrorism list, for information on the designation of the Al Nusrah Front and the two leaders.]

Despite Al Nusrah's known affiliation with al Qaeda and its radical ideology, Syrian opposition groups, including the supposedly secular Syrian National Coalition, have rallied to support Al Nusrah. Immediately after the US designated Al Nusrah as a terrorist group, 29 Syrian opposition groups signed a petition that not only condemned the US's designation, but said "we are all Al Nusrah," and urged their supporters to raise Al Nusrah's flag (which is the flag of al Qaeda) [see LWJ report, Syrian National Coalition urges US to drop Al Nusrah terrorism designation].

The Al Nusrah Front has used al Qaeda's signature tactic -- the suicide bomber and suicide assault team -- to target Syrian security forces. The Al Nusrah Front has now claimed credit for 48 of the 58 suicide attacks that have taken place in Syria since December 2011, according to a tally by The Long War Journal (note that multiple suicide bombers deployed in a single operate are counted as part of a single attack). Just two days ago, Al Nusrah claimed credit for two suicide attacks in Homs and Hama. Six suicide attacks have now been reported in Syria so far this year; Al Nusrah has claimed credit for five of them.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/01/al_nusrah_front_impo.php#ixzz2JgRA6ouw

Syrian Refugee Girls Forced into ‘Pleasure Marriages’

Syrian female refugees aged 14 and 15 who fled their country to Jordan and Iraq are being forced into "pleasure marriages" [Nikah al-Mut'ah] -- a pre-Islamic custom allowing men to marry for a limited period, which can last as little as 30 minutes. More disturbing is that Muslim scholars and preachers have given the green light to their followers to exploit the plight of the poor and helpless Syrian girls.

Photo Credit: Al Monitor
Syrian female refugees aged 14 and 15 who fled their country to Jordan and Iraq are being forced into “pleasure marriages” (Nikah al-Mut’ah) — a pre-Islamic custom allowing men to marry for a limited period.

Apart from being a cover for legalized prostitution (the marriage can last for as little as 30 minutes), Nikah al-Mut’ah deprives the wife of many rights.

No divorce is necessary in “pleasure marriages,” for instance, and the husband may void the marriage earlier than agreed.

What is most disturbing about this practice is not even whether or not the wife has rights, so much as that Muslim scholars and preachers have given the green light to their followers to exploit the plight of the poor and helpless Syrian girls.

Muslim men from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have in the past few weeks asked their embassies in Amman and Baghdad to help them find Syrian girls living in makeshift refugee camps in Jordan and Iraq.

This is happening at a time when the oil-rich Arab countries are doing almost nothing to help the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who are living in extremely difficult conditions.

Some Arab human rights activists have condemned the phenomenon, but their voice has thus far fallen on deaf ears.

Muslim preachers in a number of Arab countries have been encouraging their followers to engage in “pleasure marriages” with Syrian girls as a way of ridding them and their families of their misery. Some of these preachers have even issued fatwas [Islamic decrees] permitting the sexual exploitation of minors.

Many of these girls, according to reports in a number of Arab media outlets, are being returned to their families after hours or days of the temporary marriage.

Some of the victims are being sold by their desperate families to Muslim men in return for a few hundred dollars.

The Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustour revealed that Muslim men from the kingdom were also exploiting the plight of the Syrian refugees by targeting 14 and 15 year old girls.

According to sources in Amman, some Jordanian Islamists have even divorced their wives in favor of temporary marriage of minors.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the pan-Arab Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, expressed outrage over the “ugly exploitation” of Syrian girls who fled the war in their country.

“Exploiting the conditions of the girls in the refugee camps by marrying them temporarily is a form of rape that must stop immediately,” Atwan wrote. “Those responsible for this crime should be brought to trial.”

Yet Atwan’s condemnation seems to be a lone voice in the desert. No prominent Muslim figure or organization has deemed it necessary to denounce the sexual exploitation of the Syrian girls.

Originally published by the Gatestone Institute.

LEBANESE AL-JADEED TV AIRS SAUDI CLERIC GIVING FATWA ALLOWING SYRIAN JIHADIS TO RAPE……….

By tundratabloids.com
Saudi Arabia, a place where one can still visit the seventh century, and not be in a museum.

You know as well as I do, that these perverts won’t contract with willing women, they’ll take anything they happen to catch on two legs, say their magic words, ”be married” for two hours and then dissolve the contract. Another example of why Islam resists reforming, they make up stuff as they go along to accommodate any new situation, just like their founder did.

NOTE: Oh, and they can’t rape anyone under 14 years of age, like they’ll intend to card their victims.

H/T: Islam Exposed (the truth about Islam)

“A Wahhabi religious cleric in Saudi Arabia, Muhammed al-Arifi, who is very influential in Jihadi circles, has recently issued a fatwa (religious edict) that permits all Jihadist militants in Syria to engage in short-lived marriages with Syrian women that each lasts for a few hours in order to satisfy their sexual desires and boost their determination in killing Syrians. He called the marriage as ‘intercourse marriage’. It requires that the Syrian female be at least 14 years old, widowed, or divorced.”

Syria rebels 'beheaded a Christian and fed him to the dogs' as fears grow over Islamist atrocities

• Christian Andrei Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped and beheaded by rebel fighters in northern town of Ras Al-Ayn on the Turkish border
• News came as pro-government forces celebrated their victory against rebels near Aleppo Airport

(Dailymail) Syrian rebels beheaded a Christian man and fed his body to dogs, according to a nun who says the West is ignoring atrocities committed by Islamic extremists.

The nun said taxi driver Andrei Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped after his brother was heard complaining that fighters against the ruling regime behaved like bandits.

She said his headless corpse was found by the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs. He had recently married and was soon to be a father.

Volatile fighting: The news of the kidnapping and beheading of Mr Arbashe came as pro-government forces celebrated their victory against rebels at the Air Defence Base in Tal Hassil near Aleppo Airport last night

Sister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix said: ‘His only crime was his brother criticised the rebels, accused them of acting like bandits, which is what they are.’

There have been a growing number of accounts of atrocities carried out by rogue elements of the Syrian Free Army, which opposes dictator Bashar al-Assad and is recognised by Britain and the West as the legitimate leadership.

Sister Agnes-Miriam, mother superior of the Monastery of St James the Mutilated, has condemned Britain and the west for supporting the rebels despite growing evidence of human rights abuses. Murder, kidnapping, rape and robbery are becoming commonplace, she says.

‘The free and democratic world is supporting extremists,’ Sister Agnes-Miriam said from her sanctuary in Lebanon. ‘They want to impose Sharia Law and create an Islamic state in Syria.’

Fatal opinion: The man's brother had criticised the behaviour of members of the Free Syrian Army, seen here during heavy clashes with government forces north of Aleppo earlier this month

The 60-year-old Carmelite nun claims the west has turned a blind eye to growing evidence of a ‘fifth column’ of fanatics within the rag-tag ranks that make up the Free Syrian Army that they back to oust Assad.

One of the most effective fighting forces is the Jabat Al-Nusra, which has an ideology similar to Al Qaeda.

‘The uprising has been hijacked by Islamist mercenaries who are more interested in fighting a holy war than in changing the government,’ she said.

‘It has turned into a sectarian conflict. One in which Christians are paying a high price.’

The rebel attacked the northern town of Ras Al-Ayn, on the Turkish border, last month. The fighters entered the Christian quarter, ordering civilians to leave and leaving their homes.

‘More than 200 families were driven out in the night,’ Sister Agnes-Miriam says. ‘People are afraid. Everywhere the deaths squads stop civilians, abduct them and ask for ransom, sometimes they kill them.’

Threat: Sister Agnes-Mariam said that rebel fighters, pictured, are targeting Christians in Syria in a bid to make it a Muslim state

Militants wearing black bandanas of Al Qaeda recently laid siege to the Monastery of St James the Mutilated, located between Damascus and Homs, for two days in an attempt to prevent Christmas celebrations, the nun claims.

An estimated 300,000 Christians have been displaced in the conflict, with 80,000 forced out of the Homs region alone, she claims.

Many have fled abroad raising fears that Syria’s Christian community may vanish - like others across Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity.

Al Assad, a member of the Alawite Muslim sect, claims only his regime can protect Syria’s minorities from domination from the Sunni Muslims majority.

Meanwhile the fighting continues to rage with government forces retaking control of a key district in the city of Homs yesterday.

The latest violence comes after United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned of ‘hell’ for Syria if no political solution could be found.

Russia has stated the conflict is becoming increasingly militarised and sectarian and risks bringing chaos to the whole region.

Some 44,000 people have been killed since the uprising against the Al Assad regime began in March 2011.

Syrian Terrorists Execute Defenseless Civilians with Machete

A video released by the Syrian terrorists on their website showed them beheading loyalists to President
 Bashar al-Assad with machetes.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Syrian website al-Haqiqa posted a video which is the most horrific of all videos released so far about the Syrian crisis.

The tragic incident has reportedly happened in an area located between Talbisiyeh and Rastan towns in the Western Homs province

The video shows a group of Takfiri armed rebels affiliated to the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) who call themselves Khaled bin Walid Battalion and use children for beheading abducted citizens.

The video showed the terrorists bringing down the heads of the people on a piece of stone and beheaded them by using a machete.

The video appeared on the facebook page of Khaled bin Walid which is run by Qassem Sadeddin, a defected Syrian Air Force colonel.

After the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, some reactionary Arab states and their allies ushered in shameless efforts to strike a blow on the Middle East's resistance axis and topple the Damascus government.

Moreover, a new al-Qaeda was formed with the support of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the western countries, specially the US, in Syria.

The above countries recruit the Salafis from different countries such as Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya, Europe, even Afghanistan and some Central Asian countries, train them in Libya and Turkey, and eventually send them to Syria to fight President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Terrorists have tried hard in the last several days to make Syrian cities unsafe for citizens, but the army has purged them from most neighborhoods and districts, killed tens of them and arrested many others.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

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