Protests in Raqqa against Armed Groups Abuses

Local Editor

Protesters held daily demonstrations against extremists in the northern Syrian city of Raqa, demanding the release of "hundreds" of missing people including an Italian Jesuit priest.

News of the protests comes two weeks after Father Paolo Dall'Oglio went missing when he went to meet commanders of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIS]" in late July to ask for the release of peopled kidnapped by the armed groups.

"Demonstrations have been held daily for two weeks demanding the release of hundreds of civilians" kidnapped by ISIS, including Dall'Oglio, said the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog described Dall'Oglio as a "messenger of peace" and "a friend of the Syrian opposition".
Raqa is the only provincial capital to have fallen out of regime hands since the start of Syria's protest movement in March 2011.

The Observatory also reported on Monday clashes in Raqa five days ago that pitted ISIS against another armed group.
The fighting broke out after extremists "attacked the headquarters of the Ahfad al-Rasul brigade in the Mahatta neighborhood of Raqa", said the monitoring group.
In protests the day after, residents called extremists "to leave" their area, the Observatory added.
"Syria is free! The [Islamic] State [of Iraq and the Levant] must get out!" protesters chanted.

It is worth mentioning that the a spate of abuses is fuelling a backlash against the groups, particularly in northern Syria.

Source: News agencies, Edited by website team