The Last Front: Baghuz ~ My narration of the events leading up to the fall.

Chapter Six: Entering Baghuz Baghuz - January 2019. When we first entered the Ma

Chapter Six: Entering Baghuz

Baghuz - January 2019. When we first entered the Masjid, we saw many people we knew. We also heard of many that had given themselves up to the Kurdish forces.

The Masjid was overflowing with women and children. There wasn't enough room for the men to stay, so they had to sleep outside in the coldest month of the year. Such were our men; their concern was not of themselves but of their sisters in Islam.

By the mercy of Allah, we found mattresses and blankets. The only space we had was to sleep; during the day, we would roll the mattresses and blankets up and sit in the same spot. We would occupy our time reading the Quran, speaking to each other, or quietly thinking. It was challenging to hear our thoughts, as the Masjid was massive, and every corner had a warm body.

We had to begin adjusting to our new living conditions and did the best we could. The food was cooked outside any open area. Eventually, a sister told us we could cook in her back garden, which was much easier for us. Alhamdulillah. Her house was almost like the Masjid; each room was filled with families, women, and children. We had found flour and would bake a week's worth of bread and store it. I would estimate that one cup of flour would feed two people so that it would make two loaves of bread, two cups would make four loaves of bread, and so on.

At this point, the only thing being sold in the market was meat. People were slaughtering their animals and selling them at very high prices. We would cook it on wood fires for everyone.

The food was often distributed for free to families with nothing to eat. It would come in clear plastic bags filled with soup, a few pieces of meat, and some legumes, as rasulAllah  ﷺ said to make the food watery, so it fills.

Eventually, bread wasn't around; flour was the first to finish. Rice was to be found sometimes every other week. In the market, you would see people waiting and searching for anything to buy, and the ones who didn't have money would wait for their rizq to come their way.

During the first month in Baghuz, most people stayed in houses or masajid. However, some people were already in trenches. Those in the trenches had made them safe for the winter. Most people preferred to stay in a house because of the cold winter; however, there would eventually be no more space due to the overflow of people. A room 5 x 5 meters would have at least 50 people occupying it. This forced  people to stay in the open field area without space to dig a trench to protect themselves.

The Process of Leaving
Many people were reaching their breaking point and would decide to leave the State's territory. Both civilians and State fighters were leaving, as well as families. Each person had their reason. Some had children slowly dying of starvation, others were injured, and many had other health issues.

Any person who wanted to leave would have to walk towards the end of our territory until they saw the frontline of the coalition forces. The military would then open a specific front for the families to leave. So when they walked toward the enemy, they would enter the next town that was theirs.

Before they were allowed to enter, there were checkpoints, and then the "humanitarian" workers would transport people to the UNICEF camps or the coalition prisons for the military involved. Many men that weren't military were accused and sent to prison for a long time, and many are still there.

Ghareeb al Jazrawi
The brother Ghareeb al Jazrawi was a brother beloved by many. His story shows the truthfulness of the men of Baghuz. There were many of his kind, but this was someone we knew personally. As for Ghareeb, he was in a fighting katibah that was very active. His family was staying close to us. He went for a battle before the “First Hudnah” was announced. He went to the western part where the building of that school was placed, and the enemy would send the Kurdish soldiers to fight them. However, like girls, they would hide behind buildings and high walls.

It was narrated that the enemy attacked the main road, so the group of five or six brothers had to go in defense. They had no cars, Humvees, or airplanes to aid them, so they walked toward the enemy on foot. They proceeded so they could see the enemy, and when their eyes met, the enemy started running. Shots were exchanged between both parties, and the enemy had left the main road. At this point, all the brothers stopped, but not Ghareeb. He rushed towards them while the rest of the brothers called him and told him not to go alone. He said, “not today, today I will not retreat,” and as he ran, he started shooting at them. The enemy became aware that someone was coming further to their end, so Ghareeb started shooting at them more intensely. Before the brothers lost sight of him, they witnessed Ghareeb being shot and falling to the ground— becoming a martyr (and Allah knows best of his affair).

I then had to go to the wife of Ghareeb to inform her what had happened. Before I could finish, she cried tears of joy and shouted, “Allahuakbar.” She was happy that he was not humiliated and that he met his Lord in the best of positions— facing the enemy.

It was not the expected reaction, but Allah had put a certain sakinah over the hearts of the Believers in the ground of Baghuz.