“Silent genocide”. He escaped from Russia. He begs not to join the army. “Not our war”
Dry wind flies through the meanders of damaged streets, carrying a sharp smell of smoke mixed with gasoline. In the distance above the dome, the half -destroyed mosque is dominated by minaret.
“This building was destroyed in a Russian raid,” says Abu Musa, indicating the places of Russian bombing around Idlib. Many damaged buildings have personal importance to him.
Low and stocky probably drives a damaged yellow car without license plates.
“We stole him from Hezbollah while conquering Damascus in December,” says Abu Musa with a triumphal smile, referring to the Shiite militia supported by Iran with headquarters in Lebanon, which fought alongside the Assad regime.
At the foot of Abu Musa, between the steering wheel and the gear lever, lies the M16 rifle.
Abu Musa calls himself a mudahedin, a religious warrior. He has a tight -adjacent greenish kefia on his head – a traditional Islamic headgear symbolizing the devotion and loyalty to Allah.
He was born in Russia, he has a Russian mother and father from Dagestan. He has been a follower of Islam since his youth. In the years 2012–2013 he studied the Koran in Egypt, where he decided to join the jihad in Syria to fight the oppressive regime of Bashar Al-Assad.
After the period of service in the ranks of the rebels, Jabhat An-Nusra Abu Musa began to serve as a sniper in the Russian-speaking unit Hajat Tahrir Ash-Szam (HTS). Together with Abdullah, a fighter from Tajikistan, who took command after the death of the previous five leaders, he fought in the most intense phase of the civil war – both with Assad forces supported by Russia and ISIS.
Since 2020, their unit has been maintaining the front line in the southern part of Idlib – it played a key role in the decisive HTS offensive against the regime that took place in December. HTS is considered a terrorist organization by the UN, USA, the EU, Great Britain and other countries. In December, a high -ranking UN official said that the organization would consider the abolition of this status if HTS creates a truly pluralist transitional government.
War for religion or against the occupation?
Unlike many fighters from Chechnya and Dagestan, who came to Syria after the defeat in the Second Chechen War, Abu Musa and his current commander Abdullah came to her mainly for religious reasons. However, it is different in the case of RiZwana Kubakajew, one of Abu Musa's friends, whom we met next to the car station and at the highway parking lot.
He was born in 1984 in Russian Stawropol and belongs to the ethnic group of Nogajów, the Turkish -language Muslim minority from southern Russia. He was only 10 years old when the first Chechen war broke out between Moscow and Chechen separatists.
My sister's husband was killed. He fought on the side of the Chechen resistance movement. Then FSB agents came to our house. They beat me, tortured me, offended me, broke my ribs. They also harassed my parents. They tried to force me to disclose information. I was still a child – he says.
After years of repression in 2014, Kubakajew escaped from Russia – first to Turkey, then to Syria.
– I understood that everywhere where Russia wages war, in Chechnya, Ukraine or Syria, the same fight is fighting. I didn't come here [do Syrii] For jihad, but fight occupation – he explains.
He leads the “information war” against Russian imperialism from Idlibu. Through a telegram, YouTube and Instagram, he addresses the Nogaj and its diaspora community to make its members aware that They are, he claims, quietly erased from history.
Conclusions from the war between Russia and Ukraine
The commander of Abdullah, like Abu Musa, is considered primarily to be mudahedina, but He derives satisfaction from Russia's failures in Ukraine.
He considers them to be a factor that has contributed to HTS's rapid progress towards Damascus and the weakening of the Assad regime. That is why his unit looked at the Russian war in Ukraine with special attention.
Before the invasion of this country, Russian aircraft dominated in the Syrian sky, limiting the movements of the rebels and attacking them with impunity. However, when Moscow directed her armed forces to Ukraine, it also reduced her presence of Syria, creating a tactical gap. HTS used it quickly.
– When the war broke out in Ukraine, we also studied the tactics of Ukrainians. Their area is different – forested, moist, so it is difficult to use it with us. However, drones stood out the most, “says Abdullah.
– Ukraine has funds for their mass production. We, without any help, had to buy and bring several devices, especially Kamikaze and Mavics – in total we have only 50 of them. It is not much, but we used them maximum – he adds. Dozens of drones compensated for his unit lack of air interview and allowed to improve its tactics – from mapping enemy bases to coordinated attacks.
– For us it was a necessary reconnaissance tool. A real turning point, says Abdullah. – We hit the air and then enter the ground. We fight for Allah, but we learn everywhere – he says.
According to Abu Musa, the war in Ukraine showed that the Russians could retreat – and gave them hope that even the Empire could fall.
There is no return
After defeating Assad and his escape to Russia, fighters do not intend to return to the country. Convicted in Russia for “terrorism” and “incitement to terrorism” Abu Musa abandoned the idea of returning as early as 2014.
– I was accused of a crime punishable by a penalty of 15 to 20 years in prison. My mother sent me a document with a verdict because the trial took place in my absence, my parents were called to court – he explains.
In his old apartment, Abu Musa proudly shows his library consisting mainly of religious books. He takes off his weapon from the top shelf and sets it in a row next to the books. “I like American weapons, not Russian,” he says with a smile, showing his gains.
Like Kubakajew, he also wages an information war. He is active on YouTube, where he records movies in Russian about the Islamic worldview.
– When we don't fight, my task is to convert people to Islam and explain their basics. I also teach lessons for our Russian -speaking fighters, in mosques, in our bases or in their homes – he says.
Sometimes he receives messages from Russians who are afraid that they will be mobilized to fight in Ukraine, asking what to do. Abu Musa advises them to run to Turkey or come to Idlibu. He admits, however, that it will not be easy. “They will encounter problems along the way,” he says.
Kubakajew tries his social media as he can, to discourage people from joining the ranks of the Russian army. – We are a small group [Nogajów]. If our youth die in Ukraine, it will be quiet genocide – he says. – I am begging them not to take part in this war. This is not our war.
He says that he does not receive any financing or subsidies for his activities, simply treating it as a mission. His project is neither a non -governmental organization nor any officially registered group. This, however, did not stop the Russian authorities from recognizing it as a “terrorist” organization.
– they told my parents that they would torture them in front of the camera if I don't stop [pracować] – says.
He adds that FSB threatened his family, trying to force him to return. But he is not going to come back. “I don't belong to the Russian Empire,” he sums up calmly. – I belong to a nation that wants freedom.
