Kidnapping, Extortion and Organ Trafficking in Rural Homs

The road linking the province of Homs and Hama is one of the main roads controlled by the Assad regime in central Syria and is considered a lifeline for the residents. It is also one of the most dangerous roads as it runs through an assortment of rebellious and loyalist villages, especially near the village of Musharfeh west of Homs, where many people were kidnapped. , Um Samer, a woman from the town of Talbeesah, recounts how her 11-year-old son, Samer was kidnapped. She said that Samer used to travel by the village of Musharfeh on his way to Homs, but one day my husband returned alone. The kidnappers called us and demanded a ransom of two million SYP. The father had to sell his land to pay the ransom and get his son back. Activists in Homs say that pro-Assad militias are responsible for the kidnapping of children to extort their families. Abu Zuhri from the town of Talbeesah recounts how militants from Musharfeh executed a number of passengers near the town. “Four vehicles carrying passengers to Lebanon through Homs went by the town, but an hour later their families lost connection to them. The families were later informed that the bodies of their children are in the military hospital of Homs. We went to identify the bodies and we found that they were slaughtered with knives, their bodies were mutilated, their hands and feet were cut off and their organs were stolen. The kidnappers later called us to get the vehicles back in return for a ransom and that the vehicles are in the town of Musharfeh.” Fawaz, a student at the University of Homs, says he was kidnapped near the town while he was on his way to Homs, but luckily one of the kidnappers was his colleague at the university and they released him. (Source: Al Jazeera)