How does Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham benefit from the spread of weapons in the areas under its control

Khalil Abdul Rahman – Idlib

With the continuation of the current events in Syria and the lack of political solutions to end the suffering of the Syrian people, and the state of division in Syrian geography between the controlling military forces, the state of chaos and security chaos is expanding day after day, especially within the areas of northwestern Syria under the control of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” and the phenomena are increasing. Negativity is spreading rapidly, including the phenomenon of the spread of weapons and their arrival into the hands of civilians, which reflects negatively on security in the region and the spread of cases of armed quarrels, family fights, suicides, manslaughter, robberies and thefts.

And with the ability of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and in order to fully extend its influence over the region, decided to seize everything that could lead to an increase in its financial funding. Through its security apparatus, it seized most of the arms shops and requested that these shops be licensed, along with imposing large financial taxes and enacting laws that severely limit the sale of weapons. Simple aspects of the spread of weapons, such as the requirement to obtain a license for those who wish to purchase individual weapons, and other laws.

In light of this, many arms dealers found on social networking sites such as “Facebook” and “Telegram” a place to display, promote, and sell their weapons to local residents away from the “HTS.” This resulted in a significant decrease in the prices of weapons and the ease of obtaining them, which contributed greatly to Its spread is widespread among civilians in Idlib regions and its countryside, causing hundreds of cases of chaos and security chaos in those areas over the past few years.

The state of chaos and the spread of weapons to a very large extent has become one of the most threatening things to civilians and makes them feel fearful and insecure, despite the presence of security forces in the region. Civilians have become fed up with this lack of security as a result of the spread of weapons and their access to the hands of many who are not even proficient in using them. This has resulted in many cases of Family fights in the region.

In this context, the young man, “Humam Al-Ahmad” (a pseudonym), speaks to Aso News Network, saying: “The phenomenon of arms trade through social networking sites was the most appropriate way for these merchants, as sales operations take place directly between the merchant and the buyer after agreeing on a meeting date, address, and determination.” The price is per piece of weapon, and this facilitated sales and contributed to the wide spread of individual weapons, starting with the “pistol,” “hand grenade,” and military rifle, “throughout ammunition and even clothing and other military tools.”

He added by saying that the arrival of weapons into the hands of civilians has contributed to the increase in cases of quarrels and fighting, especially within the displacement camps spread along the Syrian-Turkish border. Hardly two or three days pass until we hear about an armed quarrel, family and clan fighting, or cases of theft and armed robbery, and all of this is taking place. Under the hearing and sight of what is known as the Authority’s Public Security Service.

He stated that on the second day of this year, his nephew’s motorcycle was stolen from in front of his house in the town of Dana in the northern countryside of Idlib, where the theft was carried out by an armed person. The price of the bike was approximately 400 US dollars, and he was unable to do anything because the thief was Armed, wearing a military uniform, and with his face masked, despite filing a complaint in the police station in the area and showing a video taken by a surveillance camera of one of the nearby stores of the thief committing his act, he has not been found until this moment.

Al-Ahmad confirmed that there were many similar cases of theft of shops, cars, and motorcycles, and the security authorities were unable to detect most of these cases, in addition to the quarrels that broke out between the displaced for various reasons, most of which were for reasons that could not be justified, but the presence of weapons contributed to the aggravation of the situation. Security situation.

He considered that the leniency and indifference of the security authorities also played a major role in the spread of weapons, and he believes that they must monitor sales operations through social networking sites and uncover these merchants, but unfortunately, even if some criminals are detected, they release some of them in exchange for sums of money received by leaders of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.

Mrs. Rawda Sh., 47 years old, also tells a story that happened with her son and his wife as a result of the spread of the phenomenon of weapons in the hands of civilians. She tells Aso News Network: “My son, who is 20 years old, got married some time a ago and we live in one of the camps in Kafar Lusin area in the northern countryside of Idlib.” Because of the difficult living situation and his inability to provide for his wife’s needs, disagreements always arise between them, even though their marriage was for a short time a ago, and my son works in a motorcycle shop with a very small financial income.”

She continues by saying: “One time, I was surprised that he had a military rifle in his possession, and when I asked him about it, he said that it was one of his friends, so I asked him to keep it away from the house. The next day, we heard the sound of gunfire, so we rushed towards the source of the sound, and he found out that he had quarreled with his wife and kicked her out of the house. Then he went out and shot in the air to scare her. There was a high probability of a murder occurring because of this gun he had.”

She added: “After attempts, we were able to convince him to return the gun to its owner and reconcile with his wife, but fear always haunts me because he is very angry, and I fear that one day this will push him to acquire a weapon and use it outside the home in disputes with others.”

The fifty-year-old woman expresses her dissatisfaction with the lack of strict laws preventing the presence of such a large number of weapons in the hands of civilians, as she confirms that there are many who have weapons in their homes and even in tents to use them in quarrels and events without a necessary need for them.

When asked about the reason for the Authority’s refusal to put an end to the chaos of weapons within its areas of control, many citizens confirm that this is due to the Authority’s keenness to financially exploit the state of security chaos. According to local sources, the Authority imposes a financial tax of 25 US dollars on those who shoots at occasions such as weddings and others, in addition to confiscating weapons.

It also imposes a financial fee of 50 US dollars on anyone who wishes to purchase a weapon from one of the licensed stores, in addition to imposing annual financial taxes on the owners of these stores. As for cases of tribal quarrels and fighting, it is considered a good funding source for them. When a case of killing or injury occurs, When the perpetrator is arrested, a large sum of money is imposed on him under the pretext of “public rights,” even if a reconciliation is reached between the perpetrator’s family and the family of the killed or injured person. Then, in the case of thefts, a fine is imposed on the thief, amounting to twice the price of the stolen item, under the name “ Public right.”

Despite all this leniency, the buying, selling and trading of weapons continues through social media sites within the areas under the control of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” without accountability or oversight.