Zaman Alwasl Reporter in Aleppo is wanted for extremists, He is under threat of death

An armed group broke into the Office of Zaman Alwasl in Aleppo, in search of  our reporter, Ra’fat Al-Rifaei, who has been asked for leaving hours before the assault over torrent of threats, late on Thursday.

According to eyewitnesses and colleagues who were at the scene, around 2 a.m,  more than 30 gunmen backed with 3 cars and a pickup was equipped with ‘Doshka’ weapon, had entered the office and looted the contents .

Rifaei stressed that The Islamic State of Iraq and The Levant (ISIL) has nothing to do with breaking into the Office and looted its contents. ‘’the indications said it was for revenge in response to a story published before by Zaman Alwasl,’’ Rifai said.

Zaman Alwasl, the independent online newspaper which founded in 2005, has focused recently on the abuses and practices of the armed opposition recently what may raise their concerns and outrage too.

Why Rifaei is wanted in-name as many other journalists in Aleppo is a big question and threat for their lives, Zaman ALwasl asked.

Journalists in Syria have been killed by snipers, accused of spying, and kidnapped by gunmen, and with the threats growing, many say the conflict is now too dangerous to cover.

The risks have increased the challenge of reporting from the country, which was already difficult because of violence, regime visa restrictions and propaganda on both sides.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says at least 25 professional journalists and 70 citizen journalists have been killed in the conflict.

But for many reporters, the bigger fear comes from abductions, which have been on the rise in the Syria conflict.

‘’I vacated the office a week ago from some important papers and equipment, after direct threats to storm the Office, following the kidnapping of activist Abdul Wahhab a-Mulla,’’ Rifai said in a telephone call with the Editor in-chief Fathi Bayoud.

Zaman Alwasl is demanding the political and military leadership of the revolutionary to protect its reporter Ra’fat al-Rifaei colleague, as well as human rights organizations.

Syria’s conflict, now into its third year, has left over 115,000 dead. It has devastated the economy and the country’s delicate social fabric. It has caused 5 million Syrians to flee their homes to other places within the country, and driven another 2 million abroad.