Extremists ban the web to cut off resistance

ISIL has banned private internet use inside the Syrian city of Raqqa, forcing citizens and militants to use internet cafés that can be monitored.

The extremist group distributed a leaflet in the city last week warning internet providers that they had four days to cut off private Wi-Fi connections.

The document was published online on Sunday by a group of media activists known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS).

Its authenticity was confirmed by a source with contacts inside the city. “The following is obligatory on all internet providers: the removal of Wi-Fi connections distributed outside of internet cafés and private connections, including for Islamic State soldiers,” the leaflet read.

After overrunning large swathes of territory last year, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant rules over between four and six million people.

The ban on the internet is the latest in a number of restrictions on communications that reflect Isil’s growing concern about how information is released.

Activists regularly risk their lives to smuggle out news of the extremist group’s atrocities, posting copies of its latest diktats online, as well as publishing regular updates about the US-led coalition air strikes on the city.

These activists now face intense pressure. In recent months, Isil militants have arrested dozens of residents deemed sympathetic to RBSS or Eye on the Homeland, another media collective.

In some cases, the act of following one of the groups on social media is believed to have constituted reason enough for arrest.