Are the Syrian rebels any better than Bashar Asaad?

What is it like to live in a Syrian city controlled by the opposition to Asaad? Raqqa is a city of 500,000. Associated Press writer Zeina Karam writes,

Veiled female Islamic State loyalists bully women in the street who don't cover themselves in the all-encompassing niqab, the black robes and veil that leave only the eyes exposed, said another resident, who asked to be identified only as Abu Ibrahim. Women in niqab are accosted if they don't wear gloves to hide their hands. Abu Ibrahim said he saw an elderly woman shoved by ISIL women when she lifted her veil off her face to catch her breath.

Cafes once packed with smokers puffing on cigarettes and water pipes have been closed down. Music has been banned. Alcohol bottles are smashed and cigarettes are confiscated and burned. Street posters lecture against smoking and urge women to cover up.

The city's main square, Clock Square, has been turned into an execution ground. The militants beheaded a man there in late January, accusing him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. A number of people accused of being Assad spies have been shot to death. Last month, a man and a woman accused of adultery were publicly stoned — though not to death. The militants pelted them with stones, but let them live as warning to others and imprisoned them, several of the residents said.

Flush with cash, weapons and experience, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known by its acronym ISIL, has capitalized on the weaknesses and divisions of the Western-backed opposition, and the world's failure to take decisive action to help the rebels.

Now around 5,000 ISIL loyalists are in the city, almost all foreigners, including Iraqis who seized most of the key administrative positions, Tunisians, Gulf Arabs and Chechens, residents said.