The Supreme Military Council of the Army of Conquest which controls East Aleppo has published the following fatwa -


Declaration to the patient citizens of Aleppo

Praise be to Allah, who, by his support, has glorified his worshippers, and who, by his power, has humiliated the enemies of Islam. Peace be to our Master and Final Prophet Mahomet, and to his family and to his companions, until the day of the last judgement.

The High Command of the Army of Conquest is fully aware of the extent of the suffering which has been patiently endured by the people of Aleppo, which is bombarded and besieged by the régime. After having consulted the Mujahideen from other factions, it is announcing by the present fatwa that it will authorise civilians of less than 14 years old, and more than 55 years old, to leave the sectors under its control,on the condition that those who wish to leave must pay, in the name of the jihad, the sum of 150,000 Syrian pounds to support their brothers who are fighting on the front.

With the permission and the help of Allah, we promise you a great victory. Hurry towards a paradise more vast than heaven and earth. Contribute to the jihad by offering money, if you are unable to participate in person. Obey Allah and attain his paradise. Carry the good news to those who wait patiently.

Those people who attempted to escape without paying were shot.

In fact, no family is able to collect the necessary sum to free their children and old people after such a long period of occupation, during which food was sold to them by the jihadists at exorbitant prices.

The Supreme Military Council of the Army of Conquest is under the command of the Supreme Judge of the Tribunal of the Charia, the Saudi cheikh Abdullah al-Muhaysini. This person has declared his allegiance to al-Qaïda. In an interview broadcast on 28 October, he declared that the combatants present in Syria are foreigners supported by a few Syrian collaborators, and he reproached the Syrians for refusing to participate in the jihad.

The Army of Conquest is a coalition of several armed groups around the al-Nusra Front (in other words, al-Qaïda in Syria) which became the Syrian Liberation Front (Fatah al-Cham).

Translation
Pete Kimberley