French journalist Nicolas Henin spent 10 months in the captivity of Isis before being released in early 2014. This week however he finds himself back in the spotlight as he urges western countries not to bomb Syria.
Henin claims that the bombings are a trap by Isis, designed to force democratic rebels into their arms out of hopelessness.
Speaking to The Syria Campaign, Henin asks 'Why are people misunderstanding the region? We are just fueling our enemies, fueling the misery, fueling the disaster for the local people.'
As Henin points out, for every Syrian civilian killed by Isis during the current conflict, around 7-10 are being killed by the Syrian regime. He suggests that the only way to crush Isis is help the Syrian locals achieve freedom on their own terms, rather bringing more suffering and pain to these communities.
As soon as people have hope in a political solution then the Islamic State will just collapse. They would have no ground any more.
One of Henin's ideas is the introduction of no-fly zone over regions held by Syrian rebels, thus providing security to people below. Sadly, given the actions of the British government over the last 24 hours, it seems his pleas are falling on deaf ears.
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