Smuggler’s story: How one man helped Iraqis escape IS
Amid rumblings of impending coalition offensives against Islamic State in north-east Iraq, there are increasing reports of people trying to escape the eastern Iraqi district of Hawija. Those who make it to areas controlled by the Peshmerga or the Iraqi army speak of hunger, vicious beatings and a terrifying walk to freedom. Those who are caught […]Sara Elizabeth Williams reports for The Middle East Eye:
Amid rumblings of impending coalition offensives against Islamic State in north-east Iraq, there are increasing reports of people trying to escape the eastern Iraqi district of Hawija.
Those who make it to areas controlled by the Peshmerga or the Iraqi army speak of hunger, vicious beatings and a terrifying walk to freedom. Those who are caught trying to flee are reportedly executed and their friends and neighbours ordered to repent.
Despite these risks, there is a roaring trade in people-smuggling, secreting desperate Hawijans to the edge of IS territory, unloading them under cover of darkness and pointing them towards Peshmerga frontlines.
