The Assad regime’s security forces have been putting increasing pressure on civilians in the areas under their control as they continue to detain and interrogate people returning to their homes from northern Syria. The Syrian Coalition said these actions are part of the revenge the Assad regime is taking on its opponents.
Local activists said that Assad’s intelligence services detained three women and a child in the town of Qudsaya in the Damascus suburbs only hours after they arrived from Syria’s north to their homes from which they were previously displaced.
The Assad regime forces have launched a large-scale arrest campaign in the Damascus suburbs in recent days. The latest of these arrests took place in the town of Qudsaya near Damascus.
The campaign also involved a thorough search of civilian homes in Qudsaya. The Assad regime set up checkpoints at the entrances to the town carrying a wanted list of dozens of young men. At least 10 young men have been detained for compulsory military service.
Similar arrests took place in Hama city on Sunday, with regime forces detaining six young men for forced recruitment.
Rights groups said that sporadic killings took place during these arrest campaigns, most notably the execution of former military doctor Mu’taz Hittani who was executed in one of the accommodation centers to which residents of eastern Ghouta were displaced.
The Syrian Coalition said that the Assad regime looks determined to take revenge on its opponents and tighten its grip on the areas that have recently fell under its control. It pointed out that the Assad regime has been showing even greater brutality in dealing with civilians returning to their areas of origin. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
