Residents in the villages of Tel Hamis, that have been taken from ISIS by YPG forces, have talked about the savagery perpetrated by the ISIS gangs. Villagers said the gangs had threatened to chop off their heads and had raped women.

The YPG carried out an operation on 13 September on 19 villages in the Tel Hamis, Tırbesipiye and Qamıshlo triangle. The operation went on for 3 days and we encountered horrific scenes as we followed the operation. Villagers we spoke to we so frightened when we took out our microphones that they did not want to be filmed. They told us: "if we speak, we will kill us as they killed our relatives. If you don't want us to die, don't film us."

The people we spoke to told us in tears about the brutality and massacres carried out by the ISIS gangs. Women cried: "it is a sin to covet others' honour, to pillage their homes and oppress the innocent. All Moslems know this. Do we pray to the same god as them?”

I joined the YPG to call a halt to the oppression of ISIS

On the third day of the operation the village of Sharkhmor was captured by the YPG. We got in a vehicle camouflaged with mud and drove to the village at top speed. When we got to the village we saw Arab fighters with the YPG. Mejdel Rifa Al Hesen explained why he had joined the YPG. "The ISIS gangs evacuated our village. They told us: 'either you will help us or we will chop off your heads and wipe out your families.'  They behaved cruelly to us and pillaged our houses. They blew up some of them. They forced us out of the village, burnt our houses and took our women away."

Al Hesen said ISIS, which massacres innocent people, had nothing to do with Islam, adding: "I keep asking myself if we believe in the same god as these gangs. People with faith do not covet others' honour or burn innocent peoples' homes. In Islam theft is a sin. How can these people call themselves Moslems?"

Mejdel Rifat Al Hesen said he had joined the ranks of the YPG in order to put an end to the tyranny of ISIS. "Around 30 from our village have joined the YPG because we do not accept this cruelty."

"The YPG launched an operation to liberate our village from the gangs. I took part in this operation and thankfully we have cleansed the village of these gangs. Even though our houses have been blown up I'm glad to be back thanks to the YPG."  

Al Hesen said ISIS had killed many of his fellow villagers. "The gangs kill people and then say the YPG did it. I'm in the YPG. We saved hundreds of people, women, the elderly, from the clutches of the gangs and sent them to secure areas. Thankfully we have liberated this area and we can return to our villages."

Local residents said: "They even blew up our mosques. As you can see they burnt and destroyed everything."

Hewash Jeryan Al Hesen said: "We helped people get to secure areas and sent injured people to hospital. Some people have been abducted by the gangs. If they want to rescue them they should join hands with the YPG and oppose the tyranny of the gangs."

Al Hesen added: "My brothers and cousins and me joined the YPG. On the 3rd day we cleansed our village of the gangs. I'm happy to be back, even if the village is in ruins." Al Hesen said 30 people from his village had joined the YPG, adding:, "ISIS carried out a massacre in Haciyat and Tel Khelil. They killed everyone, women and children. We joined the YPG as it is necessary to call a halt to this brutality."