Fighters Launch Fundraising Campaign For Internally Displaced Syrians In Qalamoun, Syria Via Snapchat, Telegram

On July 31, 2017, a poster announcing the launch of a fundraising campaign on Snapchat and Telegram was published on the Telegram channel of Sheikh Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Mahdi, a former member of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) who left the group in March 2017. The campaign says it is for aiding internally displaced Syrians in the Qalamoun region of Syria, and comes amid the implementation of a multi-phase agreement between Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and Hizbullah to allow the safe passage of thousands of refugees and HTS fighters from western Qalamoun to Idlib, Syria. HTS recently accused Hizbullah of stalling in implementing the second phase of the agreement.[1]

The fundraising campaign is called "And Strive With Your Wealth," referring to a verse from the Koran,[2] and aims to support those "displaced from Qalamoun." The campaign's promotional poster says only that the campaign is run by "a group of mujahideen from Syria." The poster also provides the contact information of users whose names are given as Abu Mujahid Al-Qalamouni and Abu Mujahid on Telegram and Snapchat, respectively.

[2] Koran (9:41): "Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives for the sake of Allah. That is better for you, if you only knew."