Mazen Hassoun. Picture courtesy of the author. Co-founder of the online outlet Raqqa Post, twenty-one year old Syrian researcher Mazen Hassoun has found asylum in Germany, where he is trying to lay the bricks for a career in journalism, a job he associates with exposing crimes and giving the "voice back to the voiceless". In the meantime, he is also recovering from the traumas and memories left by the brutality of the Assad regime as well as the horror of the Islamic State, that made Raqqa its de facto capital. He has nevertheless agreed to discuss the history of his city as well as the deep impact left on the civilians by the months-long bombardment by the US-led coalition, accused of war crimes by a recent report from Amnesty International.
Anton Mukhamedov: A period in the history of the Syrian war which frequently tends to be left out in most stories is the brief window between Assad's loss of control over Raqqa and the city's capture by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS). Could you tell me more about it?
