The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Islamic State; a year of caliphate, ruling 50% of Syria, seizing the Syrian people resources, blatant violations of human rights and massacres against all its components

Today marks the first anniversary of declaration of “Islamic State’s caliphate”, where the spokesman of Islamic State abo Muhammad al- Adnani declared the establishment of state of their alleged caliphate in a statement in June, 29, 2014. The first year of the declaration IS “caliphate” witnessed very significant events that SOHR could document most of it.

 

Since June 29, 2014, Islamic State have been able to establish 8 states inside its- held areas in Syria. The states are “al- Raqqa, Aleppo, al- Barakah, Damascus, al- Khayr, al- Forat, Hama and Homs.” IS has become control about 50% of the area of Syria, where it rules more than 90 km2 of the geographical area of Syria and exists in the 9 provinces of Homs, al- Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, al- Hasakah, Hama, Aleppo, Damascus, Rif Dimashq and al- Suwaydaa as well as it has some loyal people in Daraa. It rules area expands from the south of the city of al- Hasakah and the town of al- Hol in southeast the city to most of the two provinces Deir Ezzor and al- Raqqa reaching to the town of al- Ra’I in the northern countryside of Aleppo, al- Sawwanah area in the eastern countryside of Homs and most of the Syrian Desert till the northeastern countryside of al- Suwaydaa and the eastern outskirts of Rif Dimashq, as well as it seizes wide areas in the south of the Capital.

 

The first month of declaration of “State of Caliphate” witnessed accelerated events, where Islamic State has become seizing the Syrian resources of gas and oil because it takes control over most of gas and oil fields in Syria except the two fields of Sha’er and Jazal in the eastern countryside of Homs seized by the regime forces and Rmeilan fields seized by YPG.

 

Concerning how IS deal with children, it works in 2 connected fields recruitment and education. SOHR documented IS establishing of hundreds school in its- held areas in Syria, where tens thousands of children have enrolled in these schools. They have been taught courses in monotheism. Arabic language, English language, physics, chemistry, mathematics, natural science. The monotheism subject consists of 179 pages and it is a thesis written by Muhammad Abdulwahab; one of the scholars in the Arabian Peninsula. In this thesis, Abdulwahab talks about the Three Fundamental Principals in Monotheism. At the same time, IS “stop teaching in the schools located in its- held areas until the female and male teachers undergo “Sharia course” and sign on “repentance papers of teaching blasphemous, nationalistic and atheistic curriculums, working under manmade laws, resort to tyrants” in order to be able to teach in IS- held areas. They also work on separating the female students from the male students and preventing the male teachers to teach female students and vice versa. In addition to, some non-Syrian IS  teachers have taught the children and close dozens of schools that were teaching the government curriculum.

 

On the other field, SOHR documented IS opening of offices called “cubs of the caliphate” that recruit and welcome the children who want to join IS ranks. These offices also work on convincing and attracting the children who live near IS posts and who go to schools and mosques, the children who want to join IS without the approval of their parents and the children who come to the squares where the operations of executions, whipping, crucifying and beheading, and stoning carried out. IS has also established what they name it “battalions of cubs of the caliphate, where SOHR could documented the death of 14 IS fighters after transporting them to the battlefields in Iraq. In January 25, 2015, SOHR documented that IS organization sent a battalion consisting of about 140 members, vast majority under the age of 18 and newly joined the training camps of Islamic battalions, to the battlefronts in the city of Kobani, where SOHR could document the death of 6 members who are under the age of 18. In addition to, the Observatory documented the involvement of children in executions, including 2 children Asian nationals executed 2 IS militants for being agents for Russian intelligence and other children executed 9 men in the countryside of Hama for being “Rawafed (Shia)”. SOHR also documented some kinds of tortures carried out by IS militants against children.

 

With regard to women, SOHR documented in late August in 2014, that IS distributed 300 Yazidi women to its fighters in Syria. The women were kidnapped in Iraq weeks ago on the base of being “Sabaya (women as spoils of war) looted during the war with the infidels”. Days ago, reliable sources from the city of al- Mayadin informed SOHR that “Islamic State” transported at least 40 Yazidi women, captured as spoils of war, to buy them for a sum of money between 500- 2000$.

 

At the beginning of this November, SOHR activists in the two provinces of Deir Ezzor and al- Raqqa could document 6 cases of capturing Syrian Sunni women as spoils of war from the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. They were taken as slaves from the military housing of the Division 17 in the province of al- Raqqa when IS militants seized it. Those women are wives of officers and NCOs in the regime army. SOHR could document these six cases within 80 other cases of Sabi Syrian women in different areas in the provinces of al- Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.

 

In addition to, SOHR documented that IS kidnapped 220 Assyrians in February 23, during the attack launched by IS on the villages around the town of Tal Tamer in the province of al- Hasakah, where IS militants dragged them to Abdul Aziz Mountain area before transporting them to its- held areas in the south of al- Hasakah where they released about 26 civilians, including children, women and old women.

 

IS is still kidnapping more than 400 civilians from the provinces of Deir Ezzor, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, al- Hasakah, al- Raqqa and Rif Dimashq.

 

The Observatory also documented IS detonating of dozens of shrines of the sheikhs of Sufi ways in the provinces of Deir Ezzor, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, al- Hasakah, al- Raqqa and Idlib, where it detonated the shrine of the prophet Dawud in the village of Dwaibeq in the northeast of Aleppo in mid- August after days of seizing the village. They also detonated the shrine of al Sheikh Abdul Kader al Jilani in the village of Kherbet Zainab in the eastern countryside of al Salameyyi city in July 12, where they killed the guard of the shrine and his son. 2 shrines in the village of Harbel and city of al Bo Kamal were detonated in early July. 2 other shrines detonated by IS in Palmyra area in Homs countryside in June.

 

It also documented thousands of executions carried out by Islamic State in its controlled areas. Charges have ranged from insulting God and the prophet (blasphemy),  sorcery, spying for the benefit of the Nusayri  regime , Sodomy, Fighting IS, apostasy, betrayal, protesting against the IS, coordinating with the awakening movements in Turkey, spying against IS, belonging to NDF, shiism, drugs traffic, banditry, dealing and supporting YPG, sleeping cells to fight IS, being trained by the international coalition in Turkey, establishing wakening movements to fight IS, recruiting al- Shaitaat people in Palmyra camp and other charges.

 

SOHR documented executing of 3027 civilians, rebels, members of the regime forces and allied militiamen and IS members, they were executed by IS in its-held areas in Syria since the declaration of its alleged “caliphate” in 6/29/2014 until 6/28/2015. It executed 1787 civilians, including 74 children and 86 women, by shooting, beheading, stoning, throwing off high place and burning in the provinces of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Deir Ezzor, al- Raqqa, al- Hasakah, Aleppo, Homa and Hama. They executed more than 930 Arab Sunni civilians of al- Shaitat tribe’s people in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, 223 Kurdish citizens by shooting them and by bladed weapons in the city of Ayn al- Arab and village of Barkh Botan and 46 civilians by burning and beheading in the village of al- Mab’ojah inhabited by people of Alawi, Ismaeili and Sunni sects in the east of the city of Salamiyyah.

 

The number of fighters of YPG, Jabhat al- Nusra, rebel and Islamic battalions who were executed after arresting them by IS due to the ongoing clashes among these parties reached to 216.

 

IS also executed 143 members of its own militants for “exceeding the limits in religion and spying for foreign countries”, most of them executed after arresting them during their attempt to come back home.

 

881 officers and soldiers of the regime forces were also executed by IS. They were arrested during clashes between IS and the regime forces.

 

Due to the massacres and the blatant violations of human rights against the Syrian people by Islamic State and its members who exploited the tragedy of this people who revolt against the oppression and tyranny regime in order to establish their “Caliphate” at the expanse of the Syrian people’s blood, we in SOHR appeal UN  Security Council, all countries and organization that claim the respect of human rights to work urgently in order to stop the crimes and violations, committed against the Syrian people by IS, Bashar al- Assad regime and all other parties, and establish specialist courts to sentence them. We also call them to support the Syrian people in order to reach to the state of freedom, democracy, justice and equality that preserve the rights of all components of the Syrian people regardless of their sects, religion and ethnics who have coexisted for better future for Syria although there are some media campaigns that work on destroying the social structure of our home Syria.