Two comrades downed by the snipers of Daesh

Arthur about facing the harsh reality of war.

Submitted by donaldo on October 29, 2017

Eastern Front of Raqqa, September 6th 2017

Follow-up of my previous post.

Mansoura by night. After we had taken control over two buildings, our unit was about to get hold of a third one. After a nerve-wracking progression – at first, we entered the wrong place and then had to leave again- we finally reached the right one. Once again on the rooftop, the wall, the burin the hammer, the loopholes. I eventually fell asleep in a corner of the cold roof, covered with a little piece of cardboard. I was still alive!

Awaken at dawn, our group split up. With three other comrades, I was occupying the next building. We had been warned about the presence of enemy snipers.

In case you were wondering: advancing by day is neither easier nor more reassuring. Maybe it allows at least to face death with a clear sight ? On such morbid thoughts we took the first rooftop. First shift, nothing to report: explosions on the horizon, some scattered shootings. When the next shift arrived, I fell asleep. Strange routine: maybe things were easier than I thought.

When a comrade woke me up for a new shift, I caught a glimpse of his sad eyes filled with tears. While I was sleeping, two comrades from our unit had been downed by snipers of the Islamic State, two others heavily wounded by a land mine.

I had fully entered the war.

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