Activists document IS atrocities in Raqqa

A social media campaign organised by local activists continues to expose Islamic State group (IS, formerly Isis) actions against the people of Raqqa.

Raqqa is being slaughtered silently document atrocities against residents and civilians committed by the group, which has taken Raqqa as its capital. The campaign also aims to shows the suffering in the Raqqa governorate caused by the neglect of different opposition factions and the regime.

After the campaign was launched, IS declared the activists behind it 'apostates'.

"IS employs all sorts of torture and terror tactics against civilians under the excuse it is implementing Sharia law. This has pushed youths to risk their lives to expose the truth about the group," explains Abu al-Baraa al-Dimashqi, an activist involved in the campaign.

The campaign began last April after IS took control of the city and conditions deteriorated.

The IS group has committed numerous human rights violations, stifled freedoms by persecuting and kidnapping activists, carried out arbitrary arrests and murdered civilians, according to the activists.

After the Raqqa campaign was launched, IS declared the activists behind it 'apostates' who should be killed. The extremist group has also threatened anyone helping the campaign or using its logo on their social media profiles.

Activist Mutaz Billah Ibrahim, who was a member of the campaign, was killed by IS in a public square on 4 May 2014. Ibrahim worked for Shaam News Network, a group of Syrian activists created in March 2011.

The campaign's founder Abu Ibrahim explained they were an independent civil media organisation committed to exposing and documenting the crimes of IS and the regime against the people of Raqqa. "Taking a picture can get you beheaded. Anyone arrested by IS will be killed,” he added.

The campaign targets Arab and Western public opinion by publishing news about the latest developments in Raqqa and the surrounding areas on its social media pages in English and Arabic. Raqqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently is also building a website to support its mission.

So far campaigners have published damning videos and pictures of IS practices including the recruitment of children, widescale arbitrary arrests and summary executions. It has also published pictures showing the group's monopolisation of the city's financial resources.

The group has installed surveillance cameras on the city's main roads and squares to capture activists. It also uses the Khansaa Brigade, an all-female moral police force established in Raqqa in February 2014, to search for any male campaign activists disguised as women.

For their part, campaign activists have published the locations where US and other foreign hostages were killed in the city. 

Abu Ibrahim said that despite the activists' success they still face many obstacles. These include a shortage of recording equipment, long power outages and a dearth of internet connectivity.

Despite all the hardships activists are adamant they will continue their campaign until Raqqa is liberated from IS.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.