Idlib, Syria:
A Russian jihadist has traded his guns for wasabi by opening a small sushi restaurant in war-torn, rebel-held northwestern Syria as the conflict subsides and fighters look for alternative income.
Islam Shakhbanov, 37, from Dagestan, a Muslim-majority republic in Russia, said he went to Syria in 2015 “to take part in jihad”.
But after years of war, the Damascus government has regained control of most of the country and Syria’s main front lines have largely frozen, causing many foreign fighters to lose their jobs.
“I finally opened this sushi restaurant,” the man with the goatee told AFP, standing next to a banner featuring a fish with slogans in Arabic, English and Russian.
Wearing a warm vest and a dark winter hat on his head, Shakhbanov said he fought alongside jihadist factions and the Faylaq al-Sham rebel group until about five years ago.
Faylaq al-Sham is a Sunni Islamist group that has acted as Turkey’s plenipotentiary during several Turkish military campaigns on Syrian soil. It has also been the source of pro-Ankara mercenaries sent to battle in Libya alongside the UN-recognized government.
The group fought fierce battles against the Russian-backed Syrian regime in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib and Latakia, and is considered close to the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Shakhbanov said he had lived in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia and was inspired to open “Sushi Idlib” after tasting Japanese cuisine during his travels.
He boasted that it was the first sushi restaurant in the conservative enclave, Syria’s last rebel bastion where many people depend on humanitarian aid.
Rebel-held Idlib is home to about three million people, about half of whom have been displaced by 12 years of war.
Pickled ginger, soy sauce
The enclave is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, and other rebel groups, some of whom count fighters from Central Asia and the Caucasus among their ranks.
Landlocked Idlib is surrounded by government forces to the south, but borders Turkey to the north, with the coast less than 25 km away in some places.
Shakhbanov said he imports many of his ingredients from Turkey: pickled ginger, soy sauce, shrimp and even crab.
Idlib was one of the areas hit by a February 6 earthquake that collapsed buildings and killed tens of thousands of people, mostly in Turkey.
The sushi restaurant was unharmed.
Behind the counter, two chefs, also former combatants from Russia, chop up fresh salmon and cucumber, spread the ingredients on a bed of rice and seaweed and press everything into a roll.
The restaurant initially struggled to attract customers in the impoverished enclave where Japanese food is an oddity, but Shakhbanov bills its seaweed rolls as “affordable.”
A California roll sells for 60 Turkish lira ($3), double the price of a large shawarma roll more familiar to local residents.
He said he now has about a dozen regular customers and hopes to attract more customers by adding fried dishes to the menu.
But Shakhbanov, who is married to a Syrian woman and has two young daughters, said he is ready to leave the sushi behind and go back to fighting if divided rebel factions agree on a military strategy.
“I opened a restaurant,” he said, “but I haven’t given up jihad.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)