tragic end to raqa familys hopes of burying loved ones
Sunday 29 June 2025
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Tragic end to Raqa family's hopes of burying loved ones

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleTragic end to Raqa family's hopes of burying loved ones

Raqa's population was about 20 percent Kurdish before Syria's war started in 2011
Raqa - Muslimchronicle

While thousands of people scramble to flee Syria's battle-torn Raqa, members of the Sheikh Wais family bravely headed back in to recover the bodies of loved ones killed there.

Dodging shelling, air strikes and snipers, the four Syrian Kurds finally made it back into the western district of Al-Daraiya in the jihadist-held city this week.

But hopes of retrieving and burying their relatives were shattered by a nightmarish scene.

"We found half a corpse and some hair. I only knew it was them from my sister Zahraa's gold chain," wailed 17-year-old Amal Sheikh Wais.

Her sister, their brother Abdallah, his pregnant wife Nour and the couple's 18-month-old baby all perished in ferocious fighting between US-backed forces and the Islamic State group.

"We couldn't even find the baby's body," Amal told AFP, moments after returning from the horrifying ordeal.

Amal, another brother and their mother had just arrived at a home in west Raqa used as a command base by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces as they battle IS jihadists.

An SDF fighter saw the family approaching their position along a dirt road and first assumed they were civilians escaping IS.

"Abdallah! Abdallah! Abdallah!" screamed Amal's mother, dressed in a black robe and white headscarf.

SDF fighters tried to console them, but to no avail.

"There was nothing left of them," said her son solemnly, his head wrapped in a traditional white scarf embroidered with coloured flowers.

- A fatal decision -

Before Syria's war erupted in 2011, Raqa's population was about 20 percent Kurdish, according to French geography expert Fabrice Balanche.

When IS overran the city in early 2014, thousands of the city's minority residents fled.

The Sheikh Wais family was one of the few Syrian Kurdish clans to stay in their native city.

"Abdallah would get beaten a lot because he wanted to smoke cigarettes and refused to wear the style of dress" mandated by IS, Amal recalled.

As the US-backed SDF tightened the noose around Raqa earlier this year, IS turned parts of the city into "military zones" -- including the family's home district of Al-Rumeilah.

The Sheikh Wais family fled across the city to a bakery where they used to work, in the western district of Al-Daraiya.

In June, Amal and her mother risked the harrowing journey out of Raqa further west to the town of Tabqa, which was captured by the SDF two months ago.

But Zahraa, along with Abdallah, Nour and their toddler, made the fatal decision to stay in Raqa, where their situation grew even more dire.

"Daesh kicked them out of the bakery, so they were forced to camp in a nearby field with the bakery owner," Amal said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

- Worst fears confirmed -

After she had settled in Tabqa, Amal learned of rumours circulating on Facebook suggesting that their relatives had been killed.

Her brother, who had managed to cross into Turkey, heard the same news and rushed back across the border to find out what had happened to his family.

Desperate for closure, the remaining members of the Sheikh Wais family gathered last week at a camp for the displaced in Ain Issa, more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Raqa.

Their worst fears were confirmed by Nour's father, who had just escaped IS.

"He went to check on them one day and found the dead bodies," Amal said.

"So he covered them in a sheet and built up a small dirt berm around them to mark the location before fleeing the city," she told AFP.

Flustered, she switched between Arabic and Kurdish and said it was still unclear exactly how her relatives had died.

Some recent escapees said they were killed in air strikes as they were preparing to flee, but others blamed IS mortar fire.

The United Nations has warned that civilians caught in the fighting or trying to flee face massive risks.

Corpses still litter the streets in areas recaptured by the SDF.

Some are of suspected IS fighters, but others -- including those of small children -- are clearly civilians.

source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

tragic end to raqa familys hopes of burying loved ones tragic end to raqa familys hopes of burying loved ones

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 05:47 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Catalan MPs elect separatist speaker

GMT 07:39 2017 Wednesday ,22 November

Yemen’s army achieve advance in both Sanaa and Taiz

GMT 12:30 2012 Monday ,23 April

Birds can\'t crack them

GMT 13:22 2012 Monday ,30 July

Rihanna in leopard bikini

GMT 10:17 2017 Monday ,20 February

Actress Nabila Ebeid refuses unsuitable roles

GMT 11:39 2017 Tuesday ,10 October

Venus Williams heads back to Sydney after 20 years

GMT 15:26 2017 Tuesday ,08 August

DEWA renews invitation to organisations to partici

GMT 05:11 2016 Friday ,09 September

Minimum wage to be raised in Taiwan

GMT 16:29 2017 Wednesday ,05 April

Muslim Brotherhood could join Algerian government

GMT 20:58 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Dutch BMX Olympic medallist out of coma

GMT 08:42 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Russians challenge doping ban

GMT 11:56 2017 Monday ,25 September

Pandya half-century helps India claim ODI series

GMT 14:10 2016 Wednesday ,21 December

New zipline adventure offers loftier perspective

GMT 13:45 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

Kardashian heist suspects talk, but no sign of jewels

GMT 14:58 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Settlement law draws global condemnation

GMT 18:29 2016 Saturday ,25 June

UAE-Peruvian diplomatic relations celebrated

GMT 04:34 2011 Thursday ,24 November

La Belle Dame sans Merci

GMT 23:10 2017 Thursday ,16 February

Offers diet for short bowel syndrome

GMT 13:25 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Received offer to join Ahly
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle