Islamic State: War-torn Mosul seen through the eyes of local man
Updated
Video: Battle of Mosul refugee camps filling fast as Iraqi forces advance on IS territory
(ABC News)
At least 80,000 people have now fled the battle for Mosul, offering a much deeper view of life under the Islamic State (IS) group's brutal reign.
The group's fundamentalism and hyper-violence are infamous. But talking to those who lived in the eastern suburbs of Mosul for the two-and-a-half years of their administration reveals the finer details of their brutality.
Seen through the eyes of one man, the feared global jihadists are also common thugs; the self-possessed puritans, corrupt and self-serving.
Ahmed Sadiq, is a member of the Shabak minority who, like the men of IS, is a Sunni Muslim. He says IS maintained an iron grip on his suburb.
"They executed whole families who tried to escape at night. No-one was able to make it out to be saved from IS," he said.
And the group's infamous public violence wasn't just carried out to send a message from the squares in the city centre. Public floggings were prevalent in the outer suburbs as well. The reign of terror extended down to the grass roots.
"It was 200 lashes for major crimes and 18 to 50 for minor crimes," Mr Sadiq said.
"For example, if you expressed yourself, said something they didn't like, they'd punish you."
It was not just their rough justice that alienated locals, it was something more mundane: petty corruption and abuse of power.
Ahmad Sadiq says the man he rented his shop from joined IS then claimed a massive increase in rent.
Their dispute landed in the IS Shariah court.
"I went to the court and the judge, carrying two guns, asked me 'why don't you pay the rent?'. I explained I can't afford it and asked why it would rise so much.
"But he said he didn't care and ordered me to sign a pledge that I would pay. That's it! That's their judiciary!"
It is this sort of arbitrary and self-serving administration that's undermined faith in governments in Iraq across the region, fuelling the crisis in identity and legitimacy that IS has capitalised on.
However, while the extremists lay claim to being the antidote to this disease, the defenders of the faith, the caliphate and global jihad, many in Mosul now see them as just another bunch of crooked thugs.
What replaces them this time around will be the key to whether the Iraqi Government can hold its ground.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, iraq
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