JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
THE JESUIT OATH - AS SIGNED BY POPE FRANCIS (DECEPTION ,LIES, AND CONTROL ALL CHURCHES) RUSSIA TESTS THE SATAN 2 UNSTOPABLE ROCKET.
I now in the presence of the Almighty God, the blessed virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed St. John the Baptist . . • and my ghostly father, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, do by the womb of the Virgin • . . swear that His Holiness the Pope is Christ’s vice-regent, and is the true and only Head of the Catholic or Universal Church ... I do now renounce and dis-own any allegiance is due to any heretical King, Prince, or State, named Protestant or Liberal, or obedience to any of their laws or magistrates, or officers. I do further declare the doc-trine of the Church of England, and Scotland, and of Calvanists, Huguenots, and others of the name of Protestant or Liberal, to be damnable, and themselves to be damned, who will not forsake the same- Ido further promise and declare that, notwithstand- ing 1 am dispensed with, to assume my religion heretical for the propagation of Mother Church’s interest, to keep secret and private all her agents, counsels, from time to time, as they in-terest me, and not divulge directly or indirectly by word, writing,or circumstances whatever. I do furthermore promise and declare that 1 will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants, and Liberals, as I am directed to; extirpate them from the face of the earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex, or condition, and that I will hang, burn, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive those infamous heretics; rip up the stomachs and wombs of the women, and crush their infants’ heads against the walls in order to annihilate their inexorable race. That when the same cannot be done openly, I will secretly use the poisonous cup, the strangulating cords, the steels of the poinard, or the leaden bullets, regardless of the honour, rank, dignity, or authority of the persons, whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed to by any agent of the Pope, or the superior of the Holy Father of the Society of Jesus. In confirmation of which I hereby dedicate my life, my soul, and my corporeal powers; and with this dagger, which 1 now receive, I will subscribe my name written in my blood in testimony thereof; and should I prove false, or weaken in my determination may my brethren and fellow-soldiers of the militia of the Pope, cut off my hands and my feet, and my throat from ear to ear, rip my belly open, and sulphur burn therein, .and all the punishments that can be inflicted on me on earth, and my soul be tortured by demons in an eternal hell for ever. In testimony thereof I take this most holy and blessed sacrament of the Eucharist, and witness the same further with my name written with the point of this dagger, dipped in my own blood, and sealed in the face of the holy covenant- (Copied from the “Divine Calendar’, Vol. 11., edited by Augusta Cook, and published by Dank and Sons, 1916.) Prinked by Protestant Publications, 110 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, and -obtainable at the Protestant Truth Society (Mr. A. L. Sainsbury, Secre-tary), 15a Barlow Street, Sydney.
Russia tests new intercontinental ballistic missile, threatens West-Putin hails successful launch, saying Sarmat will make countries ‘think twice’ about aggressive intentions against Moscow-By AP-20 April 2022, 11:25 pm
MOSCOW — The Russian military said Wednesday it successfully performed the first test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin said would make the West “think twice” before harboring any aggressive intentions against Russia.The test launch of the Sarmat missile comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Russian military action in Ukraine and underlines the Kremlin’s emphasis on the country’s nuclear forces.Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Sarmat ICBM was launched Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads have successfully reached mock targets on the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.It said the launch was fully successful, proving the missile’s characteristics “in all phases of its flight.”Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that Russia had given the US an advance notice about the launch in line with the New START nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington.“Russia properly notified the United States under its New START obligations that it planned to test this ICBM,” he said. “Such testing is routine. It was not a surprise. We did not deem the test to be a threat to the United States or its allies.” Russia test-launched Sarmat ICBM from Plesetsk https://t.co/cmn2CyA1Ud pic.twitter.com/X9l0QBOrvd — Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) April 20, 2022-Speaking to senior officials, Putin hailed the Sarmat launch, claiming that the new missile has no foreign analogs and is capable of penetrating any prospective missile defense.“This really unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and make those, who in the heat of frantic aggressive rhetoric try to threaten our country, think twice,” Putin said.Amid the new Western sanctions that banned the exports of high-tech products to Russia and specifically targeted its arms industries in response to Moscow’s action in Ukraine, Putin emphasized that the Sarmat is built exclusively from domestic components“Of course, this will simplify the serial production of the system by enterprises of the military-industrial sector and accelerate its delivery to the Strategic Missile Forces,” he added.The Sarmat is a heavy missile that has been under development for several years to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda, which was code-named Satan by the West and forms the core of Russia’s nuclear deterrent.“The Sarmat is the most powerful missile that has the highest range in the world, and it will significantly bolster the capability of the country’s strategic nuclear forces,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.The ministry said the Sarmat is capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicles along with other types of warheads. The Russian military had previously said that the Avangard hypersonic vehicle could be fitted to the new missile.The military has said that the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp maneuvers on its way to target to dodge the enemy’s missile shield.It has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and the first unit armed with the Avangard entered duty in December 2019.Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state Roscosmos agency that oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesday’s test as a “present to NATO” in a comment on his messaging app channel.Rogozin said the Sarmat is set to be commissioned by the military this fall after the completion of its trials, calling it a “superweapon.”
Hamas calls for Palestinian ‘mobilization’ ahead of Friday’s Al-Aqsa prayers-In phone call with Russian FM, terror group’s leader hails Moscow for support; Lavrov reportedly condemns Israel’s ‘excessive’ force in Jerusalem clashes-By TOI staff-APR 21,22-Today, 6:19 pm
The Hamas terror group on Thursday called on Palestinians to “mobilize” for Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in defense of the holy site and Jerusalem.In a statement, the organization hailed the steadfastness of protesters who “repelled the incursions of the occupation and its settlers with courage and pride, assuring everyone far and wide that Al-Aqsa has men who protect it and defend its purity, despite the ugliness of aggression and terrorism of the occupiers.”At the same time, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh held a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on security developments in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, his office said.According to the Palestinian Shehab news agency, Haniyeh expressed appreciation for Moscow’s support of Palestinian rights at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.The head of the terror group accused Israel of preventing worshipers from reaching the Jerusalem holy site, assaulting and arresting worshipers and vandalizing property.Meanwhile, Shehab reported, Lavrov said Russia has “always been on the side of the Palestinian people in their right to self-determination and their right to establish their Palestinian state.”He denounced what he called Israel’s excessive use of force against civilians in the capital.Thursday morning saw Palestinians and Israeli police engage in fresh skirmishes on the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa.According to police, dozens of masked rioters entered the mosque and sealed the doors before starting to hurl rocks and fireworks at officers, who responded with riot dispersal means.The Red Crescent said 20 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes.Thursday was the final day that Jewish visitors were allowed to access the site ahead of a closure until the end of Ramadan on May 2, as part of a years-long policy of barring non-Muslims from the site during the final 10 days of the Muslim holy month.Video showed Jewish visitors touring the site as Thursday’s clashes raged, with smoke and the sound of blasts coming from the direction of the mosque.The Temple Mount is a frequent flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian tensions, with clashes there last year helping precipitate the 11-day military conflict between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip after the enclave’s Hamas rulers fired rockets at Jerusalem. The site is the most sacred place for Jews as the location of the biblical temples, and Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop the Temple Mount, is the third-holiest site for Muslims.Jerusalem has been a tinderbox in recent weeks as Palestinians scraped with police on the flashpoint Temple Mount, the Ramadan and Passover holidays drew thousands to holy sites, Israeli security forces cracked down on terror in the West Bank, and Gaza terror groups stoked the flames.On Thursday, Haniyeh said that “we are still at the beginning of the battle” and warned Israel over the Temple Mount.“As we defeated the so-called Flag March, we will defeat the policy of invading [Al-Aqsa],” Ismail Haniyeh said, after police barred Jewish nationalists from marching through the Old City’s Damascus Gate on Wednesday.His comments came after Israel and Gaza-based terrorists clashed in the largest exchange of fire since last year’s fighting, with the military carrying out air raids in the Strip in response to rocket fire and the launch of anti-aircraft missiles.No Israelis were directly injured by the rocket fire earlier in the night, but three people were lightly wounded in falls that took place while running to bomb shelters.No Gaza group immediately took responsibility for either of the night’s launches, as had been the case after the week’s first rocket launch on Monday evening. However, several media reports citing Israeli security officials pegged Hamas-rival Palestinian Islamic Jihad as responsible for the Monday rocket fire.This week’s rocket fire ended an almost four-month period of quiet on the Gaza border.
Russia’s envoy to Israel warned Thursday that Moscow will respond if Jerusalem supplies Kyiv with defensive gear amid his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking with Russian state television, Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov noted Defense Ministry Benny Gantz’s announcement a day earlier that Israel will provide Ukraine with helmets and flak jackets.Gantz’s office stressed the equipment will go to Ukrainian civilian rescue and medical forces, not the military.“We are carefully checking this information and will respond accordingly if it is confirmed,” Viktorov said.It was not clear from Viktorov’s remarks what such a response might entail.Gantz’s announcement Wednesday marked a policy shift for Israel, which first weighed Ukrainian requests for some defensive equipment in March. More recently, devastating images coming out of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha galvanized many countries against the Russian effort and led to a change of tone from Israeli politicians.Israel has avoided aligning too closely with either side since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. It is one of the few countries that maintains relatively warm relations with both Ukraine, a fellow Western democracy, and Russia.However, the rhetoric coming from Jerusalem shifted in the wake of the reports of widespread civilian killings by the Russians. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid even explicitly accused Russia of war crimes earlier this month, in the strongest comments yet by a top Israeli official against Moscow.While Jerusalem might have somewhat shifted its tone to align more with Western powers, it has so far steadfastly declined to contribute to the Ukrainian military effort. Instead, Israel has sent a 100-ton humanitarian aid package to Ukraine and built a field hospital in the west of the country.
Record 4,600 Jews said to visit Mount over Passover-Arab FMs: End Jewish prayer on Temple Mount; Lapid: Israel committed to status quo-Foreign minister meets Biden officials Yael Lempert and Hady Amr in Israel on their regional de-escalation tour, says Israel ‘dealing with extremist Islamist terror’-By Jacob Magid-APR 21,22-Today, 7:58 pm
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told a delegation of visiting US officials that Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo at the Temple Mount, as the Biden administration continued its regional tour aimed at lowering tensions in Jerusalem.“Israel is preserving and will continue to preserve the status quo on the Temple Mount, and we have no intention of changing it whatsoever,” Lapid said according to a readout from his office, which referenced the policy that allows Muslims to visit and pray at what they refer to as the Haram al-Sharif, whereas Jews can visit but are barred from praying.During a Wednesday briefing with Israeli journalists, Lapid brushed off the widely-reported reality of recent months and years in which Jews have been allowed to quietly pray as they’re ushered through the compound by police and employees of the Jordanian Waqf. The foreign minister insisted the official policy barring Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount remains and that it is backed by the security establishment.But Israel’s Arab neighbors are not convinced. After a regional meeting on the Jerusalem tensions in Jordan, Ammans’s foreign minister told reporters that his counterparts were demanding an end to Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount. “Our demands are clear that Al-Aqsa and Haram al Sharif in all its area is a sole place of worship for Muslims,” he said.For his part, Lapid told the visiting US delegation on Thursday that “the only people who have disturbed them were extremists and Hamas supporters who took control of the mosque, desecrated it, disrupted prayer, launched fireworks, and threw Molotov cocktails and rocks.”“We are acting only in order to prevent violence and to enable prayer to continue as normal.”Jerusalem has sought to stress its commitment to the status quo in recent weeks as Palestinians and their supporters in the Arab world accuse Israel of violating it and of seeking to “divide” the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.“The State of Israel is dealing with extremist Islamist terror whose entire goal is to sow violence, fear, and chaos. We call on all leaders in the region to act and speak responsibly in order to calm the situation,” Lapid said, emphasizing the feeling in Jerusalem that countries such as Jordan have been elevating fake reports regarding Israeli conduct on the Temple Mount.The US delegation included Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lempert and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.Israel was the second stop on Lempert and Amr’s regional tour aimed at de-escalating the situation surrounding Jerusalem. They were slated to travel to Ramallah for meeting with Palestinian officials later Thursday followed by a trip to Egypt. The US delegation was in Jordan on Wednesday and met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.But it was unclear whether Washington’s efforts to convince parties to tone down their rhetoric were bearing fruit, as Jordan on Thursday hosted an emergency meeting of a regional ministerial committee, which Amman used to lambast Israel for its “illegal policies and measures” in Jerusalem, according to a readout from the Royal Court.The committee condemned actions taken by Israel on the Temple Mount, calling them provocative, and said Israel must ensure that only Muslims worship at the site.“The committee warned that these attacks and violations represent a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims,” according to Jordan’s Petra news agency, adding that it “threatens to ignite a cycle of violence.”Addressing the ministers, Jordan’s King Abdullah stressed the importance of observing the status quo at Jerusalem holy sites. Participants expressed their support for Jordan’s custodial role in charge of administering those sites — a position Jordan has sought to leverage in recent weeks.Joining the meeting were representatives from Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and the United Arab Emirates.Israel Police have entered the compound several times over the past week in order to quash Palestinian rioters. The most intensive clashes took place last Friday, when officers breached the flashpoint site amid fears that youth stockpiling stones in the Al-Aqsa Mosque were gearing to target Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall and stage mass clashes during evening prayers when tens of thousands of other Muslims would be present on the compound. Over 150 Palestinians were wounded and some 400 were arrested in the rioting that ensued. Footage also showed instances of police brutality during which officers beat journalists, women and children for no apparent reason.Clashes have continued on a near-daily basis since, as the week of Passover brought a record number of over 4,600 Jewish visitors to the site., according to Channel 12. Ahead of their arrival on Thursday morning, police sought to forcefully clear Muslim worshipers from the path allotted to Jewish visitors, sparking the latest round of clashes. The Red Crescent said 20 Palestinians were wounded in the fighting. Several were believed to have been injured by tear gas, but one man was hit by a rubber bullet.Thursday was the last day Jewish visitors were allowed on the Temple Mount until the end of Ramadan on May 2. The holy month coincides with the Passover holiday for the first time in roughly a decade — a confluence identified by the Biden administration months in advance as a possible recipe for renewed tensions in Jerusalem. The policy of barring Jewish visitors on the last 10 days of Ramadan has been standard for years as the end of the holy month brings an uptick of Muslim worshipers to the site.Nonetheless, Jerusalem is likely to remain on edge into the weekend as Israel plans to significantly limit the number of Christian worshipers who will be able to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Holy Fire ceremony on Saturday due to safety fears, following last year’s deadly crush that killed 45 ultra-Orthodox pilgrims celebrating the Lag B’Omer holiday in Meron last year.The Holy Fire ceremony usually brings 10,000 pilgrims into the church, and police sought to limit the number to 1,000, leading Christian leaders to petition the High Court of Justice against the move. Ultimately, the judges ordered police to allow 4,000 people inside while granting access to the general area to all worshipers, in line with traffic regulations. The Palestinian Authority warned Thursday that Israeli restrictions risked further escalation.Lapid also updated the US officials on the steps Israel has taken to allow Muslim freedom of worship on the Al-Aqsa compound, noting that hundreds of thousands of them have visited during the first two weeks of Ramadan.Lapid stressed that Israel would not accept rocket fire from Gaza and would do what was necessary to defend its citizens.Gaza terror groups have twice fired rockets at southern Israeli towns this week, ending what had been a nearly-four month period of calm.Separately on Thursday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a meeting with mayors of towns near the Gaza border, assuring them that IDF “forces and preparedness in the area has expanded and that the policy of a harsh response to all terror activities will continue,” according to his office.Gantz told the mayors that “Israel is prepared to take any action necessary to maintain the security of its citizens.”
Putin claims ‘liberation’ of Mariupol, but orders troops not to storm last holdout-PMs of Spain, Denmark visit Kyiv in latest show of Western support as Biden hails Ukraine for resisting invasion: ‘They’re tougher and more proud than I thought’-By Joris FIORITI and Joshua MELVIN-APR 21,22-Today, 2:54 pm
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday claimed the “liberation” of the flattened city of Mariupol after nearly two months of fighting, but signaled he would forgo a final bloody offensive against beleaguered Ukrainian defenders there.The fate of the besieged port has become totemic as Russia battles to complete a land bridge covering territories of Ukraine already under its control, including Crimea.The West staged another show of support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a visit to Kyiv by the Spanish and Danish prime ministers, a day after European Council leader Charles Michel came and vowed the EU would do “everything possible” to help Ukraine win the war.Zelensky said Ukraine still did not have enough weapons, despite billions in Western military aid that has forced Russia to refocus its offensive away from Kyiv and towards the east of the country.In morgues around the capital, the bodies of some 1,020 civilians are being stored after Russian troops withdrew from the region, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna told AFP.The bodies of nine civilians, some showing signs of torture, have been found in the town of Borodyanka outside Kyiv, the region’s police chief Andriy Niebytov said.“The Russian military knowingly shot civilians who did not put up any resistance,” he said, adding that one of the victims was a 15-year-old girl.Biden ‘proud’While the West remains nervous about igniting a direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, US President Joe Biden said he was “amazed” by Ukrainian resistance since the invasion began on February 24.“They’re tougher and more proud than I thought,” he said, adding that Western “weapons and ammunition are flowing in daily.”The Pentagon had said Ukraine was receiving fighter planes to bolster its air force — but it later said only aircraft parts had been delivered.However, the flow of hardware, including anti-tank missiles, has not prevented Russia from carving a trail of destruction across Ukraine, not least in Mariupol on the shores of the Sea of Azov in the southeast.“Mariupol has been liberated,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin during a televised meeting. “The remaining nationalist formations took refuge in the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant.”Shoigu said around 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers remained inside the giant steel plant, where the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance has been sheltering in a network of underground tunnels.Thousands of civilians are believed to have died in the besieged city, and up to 2,000 others are also sheltering in the plant without access to drinking water or food, according to Ukrainian authorities.Putin said the “liberation” of Mariupol was a “success” for Russian forces but ordered Shoigu to call off the planned storming of the industrial area, dismissing it as “impractical.”“There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can escape,” Putin said.-Bodies-pile up-The Ukrainian defenders said they were refusing to surrender but appealed for security guarantees.“We are pleading so we can collect the bodies of the dead, so the civilians can calmly walk out from Azovstal,” said Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the far-right Azov Regiment.A humanitarian corridor reopened on Wednesday, with Ukrainian authorities reporting that four buses had left Mariupol carrying women, children and the elderly.Further from the frontlines, residents were still reeling weeks after Russian forces withdrew from the area around Kyiv.At a morgue in Bucha, families carefully searched body bags and examined corpses, looking for missing loved ones.Four hundred bodies have been discovered there since the Russians withdrew on March 31, local police chief Vitaly Lobas told AFP. Around a quarter of them are still unidentified.-International snubs-Meanwhile, Russia’s international isolation has deepened.At a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington, the US led a walkout of Western allies as Russian officials spoke.“The world’s democracies will not stand idly by in the face of continued Russian aggression and war crimes,” Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted.In London, organizers of the Wimbledon tennis tournament banned Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 event in response to the invasion.World tennis authorities criticized the announcement, which particularly affects Russian men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev and Belarusian female world number four Aryna Sabalenka.But the All England Lawn Tennis Club said it was acting to “limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible.”More than five million Ukrainians have now fled their country since the Russian invasion, the United Nations said, in Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.But returns have also accelerated in recent weeks, reaching over one million, according to a spokesman for Kyiv’s border force.Those returning must often take huge risks. Olena Klymenko said Ukrainian soldiers had been demining her pummeled village of Moshchun.“We found a booby trap in our garden. It seems it was disarmed. We don’t know,” said Klymenko, whose home was destroyed. “Still, we need to look for our stuff.”‘History will not forget’Many have fled into Russia. Ukraine accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of working “in concert” with Moscow to manage the refugees, who it says have been forcibly deported.Citing data from the UN, ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said that about 550,000 Ukrainians, including 121,000 children, have been taken to Russia during the course of the war.“Where are they? In filtration camps? In temporary facilities?” Denisova asked. “The International Red Cross is not fulfilling its mandate.”The ICRC rejected Kyiv’s accusation of collusion with Moscow.Putin has said he launched his “military operation” to save Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine from a “genocide” carried out by a “neo-Nazi” regime.But his forces have faced allegations of war crimes — most recently from the EU’s Michel, who toured the devastated town of Borodianka on Wednesday.“History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here,” Michel wrote on Twitter.
We found nothing’: Thousands seized by Islamic State in Iraq, Syria remain missing-Years after jihadis’ territorial defeat, journalist whose brother disappeared while reporting on Syrian civil war is working on platform to help families get info on loved ones-By Bassem Mroue-APR 21,22-Today, 1:59 pm
BEIRUT (AP) — For journalist Amer Matar, a decade-long search for his younger brother has defined him and changed the course of his life, now dedicated to researching and documenting crimes committed by the Islamic State group in Syria.His brother, Mohammed Nour Matar, vanished in Syria’s northern city of Raqqa in 2013 while reporting on an explosion that hit the headquarters of an insurgent group. His burnt camera was found at the scene of the blast, and his family soon after got word he was in an IS prison. But there has been no other sign of him since.Mohammed Nour is among thousands of people believed to have been seized by the Islamic State, the extremist group that in 2014 overran large parts of Syria and Iraq, where it set up a so-called Islamic Caliphate and brutalized the population for years.Three years after its territorial defeat, thousands are still missing and accountability for their captors remains elusive. Families of the missing feel abandoned by a world that has largely moved on, while they struggle alone to uncover the fate of their loved ones.“These violations may constitute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and even genocide in some cases,” the Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center said in a report published Thursday. “These families have the right to know the truth about the fate of their loved ones.”The rights group says that between 2013 and 2017, when IS ruled much of northern and eastern Syria, the militant group detained thousands who remain missing and whose families continue to live in a state of grief and uncertainty.In its report titled “Unearthing Hope: The Search for the Missing Victims of ISIS,” SJAC said that approximately 6,000 bodies have been exhumed from dozens of mass graves dug by IS in northeast Syria, and retrieved from buildings destroyed by airstrikes of the US-led coalition during the military campaign that eventually brought down IS.This may amount to approximately half of the total number of missing people in the northeast, according to the group, although estimates of the missing vary.Mohammed Nour Matar had become a citizen journalist during Syria’s civil war, and he was often out with his camera documenting the conflict. He went missing on August 13, 2013, while covering an explosion in Raqqa that went off outside the offices of the Ahfad al-Rasoul faction, one of several insurgent groups that were rivals of IS. He was 21 at the time and was working on a documentary about Raqqa and its residents’ opposition to IS.Four months later, Raqqa became Syria’s first provincial capital to fall under the full control of IS. When the extremists declared a so-called caliphate in June 2014, the city became their de-facto capital. The group ruled Matar’s hometown of Raqqa with fear, setting up scores of detention centers in different parts of the city, brutalizing opponents and even placing heads of beheaded victims in the city’s Naim Square — Arabic for “Paradise.”In the report, SJAC documented for the first time the vast web of detention facilities that were central to IS disappearances. Different wings of the IS security apparatus systematically used this network of 152 police stations, training camps, and secret security prisons to detain kidnapped civilians and members of rival armed groups, in some cases before issuing death sentences or summarily executing them.It listed 33 detention facilities in the city of Raqqa alone.SJAC says alleged perpetrators who may hold evidence necessary to identify remains are languishing in prisons of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces “with no fair judicial procedures in sight.” It says other former IS members live in their home countries where they returned after the group was defeated.“The permanent defeat of ISIS cannot be secured without justice for the victims of the organization’s crimes, including those who remain missing,” it said.Amer Matar, who now lives in Berlin with his parents and siblings, said they were told at one point that Mohammed Nour was being held in a jail in the city. Some former prisoners who had seen him there provided personal details that only the family knew.But as of 2014, the family lost any proof of life.Amer Matar has traveled to Syria several times over the past years to try to get information about his brother, even going to mass graves as bodies were being removed.The International Commission on Missing Persons has started collecting DNA samples from families of the missing but they are moving slowly, and Matar said his family has not given samples yet.Also a journalist, Matar began a few years ago collecting thousands of IS documents and 3D photographs of IS detention centers. He now works with activists from Syria, Iraq, Germany, France, Japan and the US to set up a virtual museum about the extremists.He said the aim is to have a platform where the families of the missing can find information about their loved ones, where they can walk virtually inside the jails, see the names of detainees, read documents and witness sites of mass graves and information about those buried there, whether in Syria or in Iraq.Asked if his family has hope, Matar said that “the most difficult question is about hope. Sometimes I lose hope because logic says there is no hope.”Asked if in his research he found evidence about Mohammed Nour, Matar said, “My mother asks me this question every month or every few weeks. My answer regrettably is, ‘We found nothing.”’
