Syria activists enjoy FIFA World Cup in silence

Beirut: Young Syrian opposition activists living with the constant dangers of more than three years of war are braving bombardment by government forces and jihadists' threat to watch their favourite World Cup teams. In Raqa province, controlled by powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), one young activist and avid football fan risked the extremists' anger to sneak out to watch Spain play the Netherlands.

"Members of ISIL raided the cafeterias on the first day of the World Cup, and forced the young people to go pray," said the activist who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim.

"Football, they said, distracts the mind from worshipping God. So I watched Friday evening's match, Spain-Netherlands, at a friend's house. We were worried they might raid us there, so we made sure not to make a sound even when there was a goal," he said.

Abu Ibrahim, a Brazil fan, is one of the few in Raqa who dares to communicate with the outside world about his opposition to ISIL, which has a reputation for abuses including summary executions and kidnappings. "They want everything to be sad and bleak. But I love life and I love football," Abu Ibrahim told AFP via the Internet. Abu Ibrahim mocked Friday's surprise loser Spain on his Facebook page, comparing the Dutch 5-1 win to the lightning offensive launched by ISIL and other militants in Iraq.

"Holland took over Spain today just like ISIL invaded Iraq," he joked. Abu Anas, a volunteer in a field hospital and student living in Moadamiyet al-Sham near Damascus, also follows the tournament religiously.

"Six of us gathered at my house to watch the Spain-Netherlands match. But just like the Syrian revolution itself, each of us supports a different team," he laughed. Deep divisions within Syria's opposition have plagued their revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's government. "The atmosphere in these gatherings is fun and relaxed. It's an opportunity to enjoy life, and to forget our daily exhaustion," he said.

Moadamiyet al-Sham was once a rebel bastion, but after a suffocating year-long siege that starved civilians including children, the town's rebels signed a truce with the government.