Published: 16:00 GMT Daylight Time - Wednesday 10 July 2013
Christian teenager in Syria raped by 15 Islamist rebels and killed
Country/Region: Middle East and North Africa, Syria
A Christian teenager in Syria was seized by Islamist rebels, forcibly married and raped by 15 different men before being killed.
The tragic sufferings of Mariam (15) from al-Qusair have only just come to light but happened during the rebel occupation of the town, which was recaptured by the Syrian army at the beginning of June.
Mariam was seized by militants linked to the al-Nusra Front (AKA Jabhat al-Nusra), which has become one of the leading rebel groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad. Her family managed to escape the town.
One of the Islamists “married” and raped the 15-year-old before repudiating her. The following day, she was forced to marry another militant who also raped her and then repudiated her. Mariam was repeatedly subjected to this terrifying ordeal by different men for 15 days, leaving her psychologically disturbed.
The militants eventually killed the Christian teenager.
The rebels in Syria have been encouraged to rape non-Sunni women as part of their campaign. Earlier this year, Salafi sheikh Yasir al-Ajlawni issued a fatwa saying it was “legitimate” for Muslim fighters who are trying to put in place an Islamist government to “capture and have sex with” Alawites, the sect to which President Assad belongs, and other non-Sunni, non-Muslim women.
It followed a similar edict by Saudi cleric Muhammad al-Arifi in which he told jihadi fighters that they had the right to have sexual intercourse with captured Syrian women.
Thousands of Christians were forced to flee al-Qusair during its takeover by the rebels last year. They started to return after government troops recaptured the town, finding a scene of almost total devastation.
Church leaders have been gathering accounts from Christian families such as Mariam’s about their sufferings at rebel hands.
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| Christian women are extremely vulnerable in Syria |
Mariam was seized by militants linked to the al-Nusra Front (AKA Jabhat al-Nusra), which has become one of the leading rebel groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad. Her family managed to escape the town.
One of the Islamists “married” and raped the 15-year-old before repudiating her. The following day, she was forced to marry another militant who also raped her and then repudiated her. Mariam was repeatedly subjected to this terrifying ordeal by different men for 15 days, leaving her psychologically disturbed.
The militants eventually killed the Christian teenager.
The rebels in Syria have been encouraged to rape non-Sunni women as part of their campaign. Earlier this year, Salafi sheikh Yasir al-Ajlawni issued a fatwa saying it was “legitimate” for Muslim fighters who are trying to put in place an Islamist government to “capture and have sex with” Alawites, the sect to which President Assad belongs, and other non-Sunni, non-Muslim women.
It followed a similar edict by Saudi cleric Muhammad al-Arifi in which he told jihadi fighters that they had the right to have sexual intercourse with captured Syrian women.
Thousands of Christians were forced to flee al-Qusair during its takeover by the rebels last year. They started to return after government troops recaptured the town, finding a scene of almost total devastation.
Church leaders have been gathering accounts from Christian families such as Mariam’s about their sufferings at rebel hands.
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