Introduction

For over five years, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) caused death and destruction throughout northeast Syria. Between 2014 and 2019, in a region already marked by layers of unrest, repression, and violence, an almost inconceivable depth of cruelty was inflicted on the civilian population. Much has been written about the years of ISIS rule and the anti-ISIS conflict that followed. However, much of the knowledge about this period focuses on ISIS’ immense brutality and the role of regional forces in ousting the group.

By comparison, relatively little has been heard from the ordinary women, men, and children who suffered directly at ISIS’ hands. Despite countless reports and documentaries about the shocking violence of ISIS’ regime, concerted efforts to collect and analyse the stories of communities across northeast Syria or to address the scars inflicted by years of ISIS rule are lacking. Calls for accountability, truth commissions, and reparations have been muted when it comes to northeast Syria, constrained by the region’s conflict dynamics and political sensitivities.

This Tyranny of Evil report does not seek to substitute for accountability measures or serve as evidence-gathering effort to support criminal prosecutions. Rather, it aims to begin addressing how societies confronted by sustained ‘radical evil’ can recover, rooted in the need to acknowledge and respond to victims’ experiences both psychosocially and politically. The relative silence on accountability issues underscores the feeling that northeast Syria has been asked to exist in a kind of void since the defeat of ISIS, with the international community almost confused about what to do there or how to do it. This report represents a conscious step toward facilitating recovery. This effort is not motivated simply by moral or humanitarian concerns; genuine recovery is essential to building resilience, enhancing security, and preventing future violence.

Of the hundreds of victims and survivors interviewed, many emphasized the moral significance of being asked to share their experiences in an organized setting. The process this report documents is an exercise in acknowledging the dignity and humanity of those who suffered so grievously under ISIS. While the telling of the story of the conflict so far has largely focused on military actions, foreign victims, and high-profile atrocities, this account seeks to reclaim some of that narrative and explain what happened to ordinary civilians who were subjected to the brutal ordeal of five years of ISIS rule.

About this report

Part One of this report details the history of ISIS, its ideological roots, and its route to power in the context of the Syrian conflict. Afterwards, the report is divided into two principal components. Part Two has a geographical focus, featuring detailed chapters on the experience of the conflict and occupation in six areas: Kobane, Hasakeh, Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. Part Three is thematic, with four chapters considering the impact of ISIS rule and the anti-ISIS conflict through the lens of the economy, education, gender, and mental health and psychosocial harm.

The Tyranny of Evil report is available in Arabic and English

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Interviewee from Manbij

“I saw that some ISIS fighters brought girls from outside the country, aged just nine or 10 years’ old. They said the girls’ fathers were fighting the group, so they had taken them as hostages. There was one nine-year-old girl. They were waiting for her to turn 10, so one of them could marry her. There was an office for marrying minors. They wouldn’t accept older girls, only those aged 12 to 17 years’ old.”

Interviewee from Kobane

“When we go to the cemetery on the night of Eid and light candles, we remember and feel pain as if it were the day of the massacre. We relive the horrific scenes that we cannot forget. As we grow, our painful memories grow with us. We can’t forget.
I can tell you my story. But I can’t tell it to a member of my family. My brother was a good friend of mine and I wish I’d died instead of him.”

Father from Hasakeh

“I finally arrived at the workshop and found [my other son] crying and screaming. When I asked him about his brother, he told me: “I don’t know where he is.” While we were talking, I noticed someone trying to get out of the rubble. He was unable to crawl, [just] lying face-down. There was a fire burning from his back. This was the slow-burning cork substance found in refrigerators. His entire back and legs were burning because of this substance. He was hitting the ground. I stood near his head and realized: “Oh my God, it’s my son!” I was crying my eyes out and said to him: “Get up! Get up, boy! What are you doing?” There was a hole in his head and his back was in flames.”

Interviewee from Raqqa

“We saw so many massacres during that period, including the beheading of 70 or more young men barracked at the 17th Division base. ISIS said they were infidels who should not be allowed to live, and it sentenced them to death. Their heads were hung on the iron bars at the al-Naim Roundabout, or the “Hell Roundabout,” as we used to call it.”

Mother from Tabqa

“I felt something had happened to my son, so I asked his little brother to go to the qasas courtyard [to] ask people who was going to be executed, and to come back and tell me. […]. ISIS members told him that the qasas sentence had been applied to [M.]. […] I was crying. I told them I wanted to see him. They said: “Come with us.” It was so they could hand me his body. I was not in a state where I could absorb and understand. So, I came out and I understood from them that they threw him from a high building, from the fifth floor. He did not die straight away so they stoned him to death… by hitting his head with stones.”

Interviewee from Deir Ezzor

“[ISIS] fighters came in and ordered everyone present to go out to Albu Kamal Square to watch a stoning. […] The ISIS fighters were wearing masks, and none of them could be identified. The young man was lying on the ground. An ISIS fighter went and brought a car carrying the stones. Then he took a big stone and threw it at the young man. He started bleeding. It was a terrible scene. The young man tried to lower his face to the ground. Everyone picked up stones from the car and threw them. The young man was bleeding a lot from his face and his body. After he passed away, an ISIS member read a few lines, saying he had been cleansed of sins by the stoning.”

Partner Organisations

This report is a collaborative effort between the European Institute of Peace (the Institute) and Rights Defense Initiative (RDI):

About the Rights Defense Initiative

Rights Defense Initiative is an independent non-profit organisation founded in 2019. It works on monitoring and documenting human rights atrocities in northeast Syria, sharing them with international and regional accountability mechanism, and preparing studies and reports on the impact of the conflict on communities affected by it. RDI aims to support victims of atrocities to raise their voice in the international community to achieve justice for all victims. It seeks to spread a culture of human rights and the protection of civilians during conflicts in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions. This commitment extends to compliance with international human rights law.

About the European Institute of Peace

The European Institute of Peace is an independent body that works with a broad range of local and international actors, including the EU, UN, national governments, regional bodies, and civil society to design and deliver sustainable peace processes. It provides practical experience, technical expertise, and policy advice on conflict resolution. The Institute is active in over a dozen countries across various regions of the world, including the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

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