It was at the beginning of 2013 that Shaam decided he needed to fight in Syria. He was volunteering on the country’s border with Turkey in an aid convoy after finishing his university degree back home in the UK. The Syrian revolution had descended into civil war as a multitude of rebel groups took up arms to fight the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad. “After seeing [the regime] dropping barrel bombs and children crying in the streets," Shaam tells BuzzFeed News, "I had to do something.”
A few months later, he says, he travelled from the UK to the outskirts of the city of Idlib to fight with a composite of militias at the frontline of what has become one of the most brutal wars in recent history.
But while he initially travelled with the hope of “toppling Assad” and paving the way for what he hoped would be “real freedom for the Syrian people”, little more than a month later he decided to return home, disillusioned with both the prospect of fighting the regime and, in the wake of violent Islamist movements, whether “moderate” opposition forces – such as the one he joined – could really succeed.
A member of the Islamist Syrian opposition group Ahrar al Sham fires against a position during clashes in the countryside of the northern Syrian Raqqa province on 25 August 2013.
AFP / Getty Images
But while Shaam believes he’s adjusted back into British society, he says he’s not been able to speak about his experiences in Syria since returning. Furthermore, he's living in hiding, fearful that the British government could arrest him under the belief that he is a terrorist threat – despite the fact that he fought against Assad's regime.
The government has estimated that 700 Britons have travelled to Syria to fight since the start of the conflict, and 200 are said to have returned. Though most returnees are understood to have been former ISIS fighters, a handful, like Shaam, joined groups widely considered to be part of the so-called moderate opposition, some of which the British government has expressed support for in the past.
Another foreign fighter, Ibrahim, who also claims to have joined a moderate Syrian opposition force and seen little fighting, tells BuzzFeed News that he too fears being identified as a terrorist and sent to prison.
Both Shaam and Ibrahim fought with militias linked to Ahrar al Sham, which loosely translates as the “Islamic Movement of the Free Men”. The group is considered one of the largest official opposition forces fighting in Syria. Although it aims to implement an “Islamic government” in Syria, its members have largely considered getting rid of Assad their main priority.
A large explosion allegedly hitting a Syrian army military outpost in the southern part of the city of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province, 14 October 2014.
Ghaith Omran / Getty Images
Shaam is in his late twenties and lives in the Midlands. He’s well-built and sports a short, slightly messy brown beard. He has a strong regional accent and speaks calmly, although at times his voice raises, usually when he’s talking about Syria. Ibrahim is tall, slightly lanky, and has a short, well-trimmed beard. Dressed in a simple pinstriped suit, he is quiet, usually pauses before answering questions, and uses Islamic terms when speaking. When he travelled to Syria, he was living in a rural town in the north of England with his family. He’s currently living in London and training to work in financial services.
Both men have requested that their identities be hidden for reasons of security, which includes not disclosing their real names, ethnicity, or other personal details. They also requested that the interviews be conducted in secure locations and not recorded by any digital device. Neither allowed BuzzFeed News to bring mobile phones to the interviews.
Such hesitance is the result of the UK’s stance on returned foreign fighters, which for the most part remains unclear. While UK courts have prosecuted a number of returned fighters from Syria and the Home Office has publicly warned of revoking passports and imprisoning fighters, the government has also suggested that some be given rehabilitation through its deradicalisation programme, known as “Channel”.
Meanwhile, government policy is far less clear on fighters who have not joined proscribed “terrorist organisations” such as ISIS and the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
A Home Office spokesperson tells BuzzFeed News that "the UK advises against al