Many people have fled the turmoil, poverty in Lebanon to join ISIL | ISIL / ISIS

Tripoli, Lebanon – For Um Ibrahim, life has been very difficult since his 19-year-old son, Ibrahim, went missing a few months ago at his home in Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

The boy, who is studying at another school to become an electrician, left his home in the crowded Al-Qubba area in early Thursday in October last year.

When the couple woke up, Ibrahim’s bed was gone, and he was never found.

“Last night, Ibrahim was hanging out with his relatives. Everything seemed normal,” lamented his mother.

When his phone refused to ring, the couple reached out to Ibrahim’s best friend – 20-year-old Osama – but he too did not answer any calls or messages.

A few hours later, Ibrahim’s family was shocked to learn that Osama had also disappeared from his home.

“This is when my heart sank,” Um Ibrahim said. I knew something was wrong.

Disappointed to find that the authorities had no answers to his questions about Ibrahim’s whereabouts, the couple continued their search. Three weeks later, Um Ibrahim’s phone rang.

He was her son.

“Mother, I am in Iraq, in and ISIS (ISIS) camp. I don’t know when that’s exactly, but I’m trying to get back. Please help me, ”Um Ibrahim recounted the discussion.

The distraught mother told Al Jazeera that she asked her son why and how he had left.

“Apparently he was told that the security forces were following him because of his involvement with the terrorists, so he fled,” he said. When I asked who helped him get out, the line broke.

Um Ibrahim has never heard of his son since.

Tripoli in trouble

Ibrahim is one of several young men who went missing in Tripoli a few months ago and is thought to have joined the army in Iraq, according to security officials and residents of Tripoli.

The sudden departure of the boys has left the city in a state of shock and panic, with families and friends worried about what they are going through and wanting to know what happened. They say Lebanese officials have done little to help.

As the second largest city in Lebanon, the port city of Tripoli is once known as one of the country’s industrial centers. But in recent years, it has become a a very poor city along the entire Mediterranean Sea.

To try economic collapse in Lebanon – which has been listed by the World Bank as one of the worst hit since the 19th century – has lost more than 90 percent of its Lebanese pounds since 2019 and exports food prices to more than 600 percent.

But even before the financial crisis began, Tripoli’s poverty was about 60 percent, according to UN estimates. Thousands of families may not be able to afford basic necessities – especially in the poorest areas – Bab al-Tabbaneh, al-Qubba, and al-Mina.

Immediately, the authorities fought against the city afterward Terrorists in Tripoli launched a Lebanese military offensive in 2014 during his most violent time.

For many years, Tripoli has been known as a city of war, a hotbed of “disturbance” and a symbol of sectarian and political strife in Lebanon.

Thousands of people have been killed in suicide bombings during the Syrian conflict as tensions escalate between allies of Bashar al-Assad’s government and Hezbollah and opponents.

Thousands of families may not be able to afford basic necessities – especially in the poorest communities of Bab al-Tabbaneh, Al-Qubba, and Al-Mina. [Amen Ayoubi/Al Jazeera]

Broken mothers

On New Year’s Eve, a 29-year-old Tripoli man, Alaa, also disappeared from his home.

Alaa was arrested on terrorism charges along with two of his relatives five years ago and was sent to Roumieh Prison – a detention center known to be one of the worst in the area.

Since her release in 2019, Alaa has not worked and is suffering from poor health, her mother said.

“He did not get a job because he was in prison and he suffered from what he saw in prison,” said Um Alaa.

A few days before he was identified, Alaa told him in private that a security guard had told him he wanted to interrogate him and that he would soon be arrested again.

“I tried to reassure him, telling him he was not guilty of any wrongdoing,” said Um Alaa.

But a few days later, Alaa disappeared. His mother said Lebanese security forces had informed the couple that Alaa had crossed the Syrian border into Iraq and entered ISIL.

Before the woman started sharing the shocking news, things got worse.

On Sunday, Iraqi terrorists killed nine ISIL militants in Al-Azim province outside Baqouba, north of Baghdad, in retaliation. terrorist attacks on Iraqi military bases which killed 11 soldiers last month.

Iraqi security officials say four of them have been killed by Lebanese natives in Tripoli, while Lebanese journalists have said six Lebanese men have died, citing several of them and naming their relatives in Tripoli.

Um Alaa, whose son sang again last week – for the first time since his disappearance, was disappointed to learn from photos and photographs posted by an anonymous singer in Iraq that his son was one of the victims.

“When Alaa called, he asked me about my health and told me he was in Iraq, but did not disclose anything,” he said.

“I’m devastated. He saw the injustice, ”said his mother as she begged the Lebanese authorities to return her body. “She was planning to get married. Now he is gone.

Several mothers in Tripoli have told Al Jazeera that their sons have been missing for the past few months, but have reappeared in Iraq. [Amen Ayoubi/Al Jazeera]

Security check

Al Jazeera spoke with several other families who said the same thing. Ahmed Noureddine, a father from Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli, said their 28-year-old son, Mohammed, went missing in January despite having a wife and two sons.

Although Mohammed has not heard of it since then, a 22-year-old woman studying engineering at the University of Lebanon said her son also went missing in Tripoli last month and reached out to inform him that he was now in Iraq.

According to a source in the Interior Ministry, 48 young men have left Tripoli since October last year and are thought to have joined the ISIL group in Iraq.

The source, who asked not to be named because he was not allowed to speak to reporters, said the investigation was being carried out in collaboration with Iraqi security agencies.

He added that Lebanese interior minister Bassam Mawlawi, who is due to travel to Iraq in mid-February, is expected to discuss the matter with his Iraqi counterpart.

Al Jazeera contacted the Lebanese security forces and the military, but declined to comment.

Meanwhile, a security source who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said the Lebanese security forces were in the process of interviewing a Lebanese man who had been involved in recruiting Tripoli people to join ISIL.

According to the source, the interviews have shown that promises of job opportunities and finances have attracted many young men in Iraq.

“Some were promised a salary of up to $ 2,000, while others were told they could get a job for about $ 700 upon arrival at ISIL,” the source said.

Ahmed Noureddine’s son, Mohamed, went missing from his home in Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli last month, and has not heard from him since. [Amen Ayoubi/Al Jazeera]

Restart of ISIL, triggers

Revelations come amid great evidence of a the resurgence of ISIL in Syria and Iraqalmost three years after the armed forces lost the last part of his regime.

Last week, ISIL fighters launched a a terrorist attack on the Ghweyaran prison in Kurdish Thousands of homes of former ISIL fighters in Hassakeh, Syria, where a number of threats have been made armies in neighboring Iraq in recent months.

Enrolling young men from Tripoli to join the armed forces is not new, “said Khaldoun al-Sharif, a Lebanese politician and former government adviser.

“Although there are extremist views in Tripoli, only a handful of people,” al-Sharif said.

“The main reasons for this are growing poverty, unemployment, lack of basic services, and civil unrest through unfair construction and false pretenses to arrest young men in Tripoli. , “he added.

Muhammad Sablouh, a Lebanese lawyer working for counter-terrorism and security, agreed.

“There is a very clear effort to attract and recruit guys to join the club,” Sablouh said. “Tripoli wants to remain Lebanon’s second capital, but the government has always treated its people as a source of violence and extremism.”

According to Salbouh, Lebanese security agencies have recorded 11,000 terrorist attacks on Tripoli residents, and used them to initiate construction and interrogation documents, although there is no conclusive evidence to support the allegations.

“Tripoli boys are regularly called by the police, arrested and sent to military courts,” Al Jazeera said. “This leaves a deep sense of injustice among them.”

For Um Ibrahim, more does not add up regardless.

“Ibrahim was struggling to make his future – like the hundreds of young boys in this city,” said Um Ibrahim. “What is happening is confusing. I am really surprised. ”

Poverty, unemployment, unemployment, and the atrocities perpetrated against the young men in Tripoli have provided an opportunity for the military to find registered people in the city, experts say. [Amen Ayoubi/Al Jazeera]