By Nechirvan Hussein
GIRE SPI, Syria – Syria's newly liberated Kurdish town of Gire Spi, also known as Tal Abayd, remains gripped by fear after Thursday’s brutal ISIS attack on the town of Kobani some 70km to the east, residents told Rudaw on Friday.
When news of the attacks reached Gire Spi on Thursday residents were shocked and concerned for their fellow Kurds. Gire Spi, a key border crossing with Turkey, was captured from ISIS on June 15 by Kurdish forces known as YPG, or People's Protection Units. The town is also a vital supply route for the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.
The ISIS defeat was seen as a strategic and symbolic victory for Kurdish forces, and shifted the battlefield momentum away from the extremists who had earlier made gains in Iraq and Syria.
Even so, the presence of ISIS has yet to be totally removed from Gire Spi. The hundreds of residents who have returned to town report that the signs and evidence of the extremists' occupation are still everywhere; a constant reminder that ISIS could come back.
Residents said the black flag of ISIS still waves in some government buildings and the group's slogans are still scrawled on walls across the town.
“Smoking was banned. Women were forced to cover themselves. They [ISIS] were cutting off the hands of those who were trying to oppose the rules and regulations. It was a total mess and terror,” a young man who stayed in the town when it was under ISIS brief control.
Another resident explained to Rudaw his experience, saying “They are against humanity, they have slaughtered civilians. Actually, no one ever knew what they were about to do. You could not even question them.”
The attack in Kobani, which was described as random shootings and executions, left at least 174 civilians dead and many more wounded, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The killings in Kobani events reminded Gire Spi residents how brutal ISIS has been since it seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria last year.
"The fear can be felt all over the town and people are still in shock. Some of them even refused to talk to media, because they are scared of ISIS revenge," Rudaw reporter said.
GIRE SPI, Syria – Syria's newly liberated Kurdish town of Gire Spi, also known as Tal Abayd, remains gripped by fear after Thursday’s brutal ISIS attack on the town of Kobani some 70km to the east, residents told Rudaw on Friday.
When news of the attacks reached Gire Spi on Thursday residents were shocked and concerned for their fellow Kurds. Gire Spi, a key border crossing with Turkey, was captured from ISIS on June 15 by Kurdish forces known as YPG, or People's Protection Units. The town is also a vital supply route for the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.
The ISIS defeat was seen as a strategic and symbolic victory for Kurdish forces, and shifted the battlefield momentum away from the extremists who had earlier made gains in Iraq and Syria.
Even so, the presence of ISIS has yet to be totally removed from Gire Spi. The hundreds of residents who have returned to town report that the signs and evidence of the extremists' occupation are still everywhere; a constant reminder that ISIS could come back.
Residents said the black flag of ISIS still waves in some government buildings and the group's slogans are still scrawled on walls across the town.
“Smoking was banned. Women were forced to cover themselves. They [ISIS] were cutting off the hands of those who were trying to oppose the rules and regulations. It was a total mess and terror,” a young man who stayed in the town when it was under ISIS brief control.
Another resident explained to Rudaw his experience, saying “They are against humanity, they have slaughtered civilians. Actually, no one ever knew what they were about to do. You could not even question them.”
The attack in Kobani, which was described as random shootings and executions, left at least 174 civilians dead and many more wounded, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The killings in Kobani events reminded Gire Spi residents how brutal ISIS has been since it seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria last year.
"The fear can be felt all over the town and people are still in shock. Some of them even refused to talk to media, because they are scared of ISIS revenge," Rudaw reporter said.
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