In late November, Russian air-strikes in the area of north Idlib countryside killed two people from the remaining original inhabitants of the Jabal al-Summaq area (who are originally Druze but were forced many years ago to declare conversion to Sunni Islam, first by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham and then by Jabhat al-Nusra). The two martyrs are Aymenn al-Qouda from the village of Kafr Maris and Ibrahim Najdo from the village of Taltita. While it is important to document the oppression that the remaining original inhabitants of Jabal al-Summaq have suffered at the hands of armed groups, it is also important to document civilian deaths from airstrikes and not think of those killed as mere statistics. In this new guest post, my friend 'Odoacer' of the village Qalb Lawze in Jabal al-Summaq documents the lives of Aymenn al-Qouda and Ibrahim Najdo, whom he refers to as 'daraweesh' (a term for poor people with simple and innocent means of living).
[click here to continue reading, for paying subscribers only].