Iraq News
Human Rights

ISIS razes gravestones in rural Idlib, Hama

By Waleed Abu al-Khair in Cairo

A member of the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' al-hesba ('religious police') committee smashes a gravestone in rural Idlib. [Photo courtesy of Moataz Omran]

A member of the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' al-hesba ('religious police') committee smashes a gravestone in rural Idlib. [Photo courtesy of Moataz Omran]

"Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) gangs have been demolishing gravestones in recently-captured villages in rural Idlib and rural Hama, activists told Diyaruna.

This is being carried out demonstratively, as a public spectacle, even though most civilians have fled the area, they said.

"Earlier this week, ISIS began razing gravestones in villages and towns it has captured in southern rural Idlib and northern rural Hama," said activist Moataz Omran of Halfaya in Hama province.

The group entered these areas earlier this month, he told Diyaruna, taking advantage of the battles between the regime and its allies on one side and opposition groups on the other to move into new territory.

The 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' has been imposing its presence in rural Idlib, where members of its al-hesba committee have been leveling gravestones. [Photo courtesy of Moataz Omran]

The 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' has been imposing its presence in rural Idlib, where members of its al-hesba committee have been leveling gravestones. [Photo courtesy of Moataz Omran]

'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' elements have taken advantage of the ongoing battles in northern Syria to expand their footprint in the area. [Photo courtesy of Moataz Omran]

'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' elements have taken advantage of the ongoing battles in northern Syria to expand their footprint in the area. [Photo courtesy of Moataz Omran]

Rival opposition groups had withdrawn from the area under regime fire.

After entering these areas, ISIS’s al-hesba ("religious police") committee toured local villages and towns to assert the group's presence in the area and search for any violations of its harsh interpretation of sharia.

The committee carried out its tour of inspection in Umm al-Kusur, Umm Sahrij, al-Musaitba, Abu al-Duhur, al-Sheeha, Abu Habbeh, Anouz and Abu Ajweh.

Al-Hesba elements searched the villages for banned items such as cigarettes, hookahs and alcoholic beverages and destroyed satellite dishes on the roofs of some houses.

They concluded their tour of inspection in the cemeteries, where they leveled gravestones claiming that as they protruded from the ground, "they were in violation of sharia", Omran said.

Public anger at ISIS

"With this behaviour, ISIS intends to send a message to local residents and other factions present in the area that despite the heavy defeats it has suffered, it is still able to capture new territory and impose its laws," Omran said.

The group's actions sparked anger and resentment among civilians -- both those who remained in the area, who are mainly elderly and poor, and those who fled to safer places in southern rural Idlib, he said.

"The group has been expanding linearly in the direction of Idlib city," he added, advancing from the direction of al-Saan, north-east of Hama, and occupying the villages in its path.

It still poses a serious threat "as it has isolated many areas in the region in which civilians are now trapped, the majority of whom were caught by surprise by the ongoing fighting and are now almost besieged", Omran said.

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