AZRAQ, Jordan — In a barren patch of the Jordanian desert, Syrian refugee Abu Mohammad, a pseudonym, lit a cigarette inside a square metal shelter that serves as home these days, lowered his gaze and started talking about what led him here. He and the rest of the refugees interviewed requested that their names be changed for fear of reprisals against relatives still in Syria.

It began over a year ago in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa with black-clad men bearing black flags and accents he did not recognize. Months passed as Islamic State (IS) militants tightened their chokehold on the city along the Euphrates River, soon declaring it the capital of their caliphate, a territory that also spans large swaths of Iraq. Abu Mohammad watched the transformation in agony.

“Women must wear black and be fully covered in Raqqa. If [IS fighters] saw you on the street at prayer times, they would place you in confinement for three days where they would re-teach you how to pray,” Abu Mohammad told Al-Monitor at Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp, some 100 km (62 miles) east of the capital Amman.

Daily restrictions were followed by tighter control and more violence.