Syria 1st-Hand: From Student and Gap Salesman to Insurgent in Aleppo (Spencer)

Free Syrian fighters in Aleppo (Photo: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

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An engaging and English-speaking young sophisticate in shades, Yaman Hamoud divided his time between studying at Aleppo University and earning money in Dubai. He worked as an assistant at the Gap store in Dubai Mall, the acme of the city’s bling culture, next to Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

But twice earlier this year, Aleppo University was raided by security forces in response to protests. Among those arrested was a friend who was hung up by his wrists from the ceiling of his cell for three days until the skin broke and rucked up over his hands. Girls were raped, he said.

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