Ahmad had to sneak out of Raqqa with his brother and former Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters. Taking a private minibus under the cover of darkness, he practised his story to tell at Isis checkpoints.
"Driving through [the Isis-held city of] Al-Bab, the streets were empty and at the checkpoints you could see they were nervous. They were sure the Kurds would attack," he said.
Yesterday, the battle for the city of Kobane, known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, was critical. Smoke, gunfire and shelling could be seen and heard from the border as fighting moved even closer towards Turkey.
Kobane, a major Kurdish city on the Turkish border which shelters a population of at least 200,000, has been the scene of battles between Isis and fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG), bolstered by hundreds of Turkish Kurdish fighters and FSA battalions.
Despite the intensity of the battles, Ali Ziyadeh, a civilian from Kobane, said he was confident the forces fighting Isis were keeping them at bay.
According to those inside the Isis-controlled town of Jarabulus, just over a mile from the Turkish border, most of the militants have moved to the countryside, and to the front lines to join the offensive on Kobane.
"Four buses took Isis members and their families out of Jarabulus on Tuesday," said Ahmad Al-Jader, a former FSA fighter from Jarabulus. In the east of the country, civilians in Deir Ezzor, close to Isis areas, are too scared to venture outside for fear of being bombed.
The coalition air strikes yesterday hit oil refineries, a central base, a camp and a checkpoint.
"People don't know what's going on. A lot of them want to get rid of Isis, but not this way because they know what the US is here for and it's not to get rid of the regime," said Al-Jader. "Our reporter on the ground said there was not even a bolt left in the infrastructure of the refinery. It was completely destroyed."
The strikes have not been totally welcomed by the FSA. They insist any international intervention in Syria should also target the Assad regime, said Abu Mohammad, head of the political office for Aleppo-based opposition armed group, Jaysh al-Mujahideen.
"Our rebel fighters will not accept to continue to fight Isis just to lose most of our strength so the regime can come and finish them off. If the US does not target the regime, we will not fight Isis on the ground," Mohammad said yesterday.
The group was among the first to start fighting Isis at the beginning of this year, but have become desperate for weapons and ammunition. "We would have signed anything they [the US] want. We'd even change our name if that makes a difference. We just need help to fight both Assad and Isis," said Mohammad.
- Independent
