Syria's human shields: Rebels lock hundreds of women in cages and parade them through streets in horrifying attempt to stop Assad's air-strikes

Almost 500 Alawites - male and female - have been rounded up by Army of Islam militants in Douma, Syria, and are being held captive on the back of flat-bed trucks and pick-ups. The city has been pulverised by daily attacks by Russian and Syrian bombing raids. However, the locals see this extreme retaliation as the only way of ensuring the airborne attacks are ended - as it would mean President Assad targeting his own supporters. At least 100 cages are now being used to ferry the hostages around the city, in the Eastern Ehouta region. Videos of the trucks have been shared on YouTube and clearly show terrified women helpless inside the thick metal fencing.

Daily Mail | 3 November 2015