(By Faris Al Rifai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed)
Fighters of Al Qaeda's Syria wing, the Nusra Front, assaulted a prominent activist for lifting the Revolution’s Flag in Bostan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo last Friday.
Hozaifa Dahman, the attacked activist, wrote on his Facebook page following attack of Nusra Front members: “I could have been beheaded within less than a second” and activists launched a Hash-tag “Revolution’s Flag No compromise.”
Dahman detailed to Zaman al-Wasl the incidence saying: “after Friday’s pray on 3/April/2015, a demonstration started at Bader Mosque to reach to Mash’had neighborhood and stopped at al-Haj bridge where all battalion’s flags were raised including Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Fatah army.
My friend and I raise the revolution’s flag at the bridge, but in my way back and near the medical point, while I was still carrying the flag, I was stopped by masked men who were holding flags of Qaeda in Levant and holding Bin Laden’s pictures.”
The activist then explained his traumatizing clash with Nusra Front’s fighters when they demanded him to throw the Revolution’s Flag down as they called it “secular Flag” and when the activist told them that it it was the revolution’s Flag, they became angry and one of them shouted at him and described him as apostate and raising the secular flag.
“After that they hit me at my hands to leave the flag, and hit me with the bottom of the their guns on my back and hands, while one of them wanted to shoot me, and another was about to behead me but another man stopped him”, the activist detailed.
Dahman mentioned that members of “Sham Front” interfered and took him to the medical point to have him examined, where he felt difficulty in breathing and pain all over his body, to find later that he had injuries in his shoulders, legs and back.
“This time we entered Bostan al-Qasr and torn off your seculars’ flag and stepped on it, next Friday we are going to behead you because you are Atheists and apostates”, that was the phrase the attackers told me before leaving.
The activist mentioned that he was able to recognize the man who wanted to behead him, as he was an owner of shoes mending in Bostan al-Qasr and he participated with other expiating people in invading the neighborhood and he was arrested for two hours only but most emirs interfered to release him. “He was seen wondering around on his motorbike in the neighborhood putting the song ‘we are the Sharia’s supporters.’”
The activist explained that Nusra Front and other Islamic groups wanted to wipe everything related to the revolution by threatening any one speaks about it. He added that Nusra Front has activated its sleeping cells in Bostan al-Qasr and Kallaseh neighborhoods to raise and distribute flags with caption “Qaeda in Levant, explaining that the front wanted to take a chance to control Aleppo, but it needs the community support like demonstrations.”
The activist mentioned that the Syrian Observatory for human rights has published recently a demonstration for civilians demanding a Caliphate for Aleppo.
“Nusra Front wants to control people’s minds by raising Islamic Flags and captions, beside showing others as Atheists and apostates.
This is not the first time in which the Syrian revolution’s flag get humiliated as activists published a video showed members of Islamic groups in Saraqib tearing off the revolution’s flag.
Zaman Al Wasl
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