SCENES of jubilation greeted Kurdish-led forces when they routed Islamic State fighters from the city of Manbij in northern Syria last August. In the streets, women set fire to the long black veils the jihadists had forced them to wear since they seized the city in January 2014. Men shaved off the beards they had been obliged to grow. One old woman was photographed puffing merrily on a cigarette, an activity punishable with prison in the “caliphate”. For many, however, the giddy joy of liberation soon gave way to tragedy.
“The first explosion killed our neighbour and his sister-in-law when they entered their house,” said Ali Hussain Omari, a former fighter from the city. “Three days later another mine killed my cousin. His 11-year-old daughter’s leg was amputated and their house was destroyed. A week later another mine in an olive tree exploded. My neighbour lost his leg.”
The amount of land that IS controls is shrinking quickly in both Iraq and Syria. But the group can still kill and maim, even in areas it no longer occupies. Within ten days of Manbij’s liberation, booby-traps and mines...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2olf0K9
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