23 Christian Families Are Stranded in the ISIS-Controlled City of Raqqa by Christian Today Staff Writer |
"Beginning on Sunday, the families were expected to pay the equivalent of $535, or be expelled from their homes.
"There were once 1,500 Christian families in the northern Syrian city, but nearly all of them have fled since IS took over the city in August. US airstrikes in the area also caused Raqqa residents to flee.
"'After the air strikes started, people got scared," a Raqqa resident using the alias Abo Ward Al-Raqqawi told Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. "Some people escaped to Turkey or Damascus or to other government-controlled areas.
"'In Raqqa, everyone is afraid of the air strikes. Raqqa is like a ghost town...'"