{"id":18952,"date":"2018-10-18T12:28:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T12:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=18952"},"modified":"2018-10-18T12:28:35","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T12:28:35","slug":"one-year-after-daesh-defeat-syrias-raqqa-still-in-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=18952","title":{"rendered":"One year after Daesh defeat, Syria\u2019s Raqqa still in fear"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nRAQQA, Syria: A year after a US-backed alliance of Syrian fighters drove the Daesh group from the northern city of Raqqa, traumatized civilians still live in fear of near-daily bombings.
\u201cEvery day we wake up to the sound of an explosion,\u201d said resident Khaled Al-Darwish.
\u201cWe\u2019re scared to send our children to school … there\u2019s no security,\u201d he added.
The militants\u2019 brutal rule in Raqqa was brought to an end in October 2017 after a months-long ground offensive by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces supported by air strikes from a US-led coalition.
But despite manning roadblocks at every street corner, the SDF and the city\u2019s newly created Internal Security Forces are struggling to stem infiltration by Daesh sleeper cells.
At Raqqa\u2019s entrance, soldiers verify drivers\u2019 identity papers and carefully sift through lorry cargoes.
Inside the city, there are regular foot patrols and armored vehicles sit at strategic points.
Women wearing the niqab are asked to show their faces to female security members before entering public buildings.
\u201cIf there wasn\u2019t fear about a return of Daesh, there wouldn\u2019t be this increased military presence,\u201d said Darwish, a father of two, speaking near the infamous Paradise Square.
It was here that Daesh carried out decapitations and other brutal punishments, earning the intersection a new name \u2014 \u201cthe roundabout of hell.\u201d
While the nightmare of militant rule may be gone, most of the city still lies in ruins and there are near daily attacks on checkpoints and military vehicles, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Although a series of stinging defeats have cut Daesh\u2019s so-called caliphate down to desert hideouts, the militants still manage to hit beyond the patches of ground they overtly control.
Some Raqqa residents say the city\u2019s new security forces lack the expertise to cope.
\u201cWe are exhausted. Every day we don\u2019t know if we will die in a bomb explosion or if we will go home safe and sound,\u201d said Abu Younes, sitting in his supermarket near a roundabout not far from Paradise Square.
\u201cThere is no security \u2014 (the new security forces) on the roadblocks are not qualified and there is a lot of negligence,\u201d he complained.
\u201cThere are faults that enable Daesh to infiltrate the city easily and carry out attacks.\u201d
But despite the continued attacks, a semblance of normal life has returned to the city.
Shops have reopened and traffic has returned to major roads \u2014 albeit choked by the impromptu checkpoints.
In a public garden, children climb up a multi-colored slide and onto dilapidated swings as their mothers sit on nearby benches carefully keeping watch.
They are set amidst an apocalyptic backdrop of twisted metal and splayed balconies \u2014 the remnants of buildings torn apart by US-led coalition air raids.
Nearby, Ahmed Al-Mohammed pauses as he listens to music on his phone. Like others, he does not hide his disquiet.
\u201cWe\u2019re scared because of the presence of Daesh members in the city,\u201d the 28-year-old said.
\u201cThe security forces need to tighten their grip.\u201d
Ahmed Khalaf, who commands Raqqa\u2019s Internal Security Forces, defended the work of his men and claimed successes against the militants.
He said patrols are highly organized and that a \u201cjoint operation cell\u201d had recently been established with coalition forces to monitor the city\u2019s security.
\u201cRecently we arrested four (militants) \u2014 it was a cell that took part in attacks that terrorized the city,\u201d said Khalaf, sporting plain green fatigues.
\u201cWe are continuing our investigation to uncover the other cells,\u201d he added.
\u201cDaesh\u2019s goal is to destroy the country and to not let anyone live in safety,\u201d he said.
Security and stability are what Najla Al-Ahmed wants most for her children.
\u201cThe nightmare of Daesh follows us everywhere \u2014 whenever we try to rest, explosions start up again,\u201d said the 36-year-old, as she shopped with her young ones.
\u201cThe war has worn us out. Us and our children. It has destroyed our future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAQQA, Syria: A year after a US-backed alliance of Syrian fighters drove the Daesh group from the northern city of Raqqa, traumatized civilians still live in fear of near-daily bombings.\u201cEvery day we wake up to the sound of an explosion,\u201d said resident Khaled Al-Darwish.\u201cWe\u2019re scared to send our children to school … there\u2019s no security,\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":18953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}