The "liberated Aleppo" is seeing increased tensions after members of Islamic opposition factions last week destroyed the revolution’s flag and abducted a well-known activist in Aleppo on Tuesday evening.
Opposition activists in Aleppo said activist Rayan Rayan was kidnapped in al-Kallaseh area after previously escaping a failed attempt to kidnap him earlier in the day.
Rayan had written on his Facebook page Monday that he was subjected to "a failed ambush".
The kidnapping incident comes after a tense week that began with members of the Nusra Front, Ahrar ash-Sham, Abu Amara and Hizb at-Tahrir (Liberation Party) tearing down the flag of the Syrian revolution (the independence flag).
A number of the militants then attacked activists carrying the flag with swords, accusing the activists of ‘secularism and infidelity’.
Members of the Hizb at-Tahrir group – which activists in Aleppo have recently dubbed ‘the New ISIS’ – have recently launched a campaign to sabotage and destroy revolutionary banners, graphics, murals and flags.
Al-Jabha ash-Shamiyah, considered the largest military faction in Aleppo, stood by idly as activists called on the group to intervene.
Hizb at-Tahrir is a non-military Islamic group in Aleppo, with its activities limited to walls, with slogans similar to those used by ISIS. Hizb at-Tahrir has never taken a public stance on the Assad regime or its toppling.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
