The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that it recorded at least 206 arbitrary arrests in Syria in September, including arrests of 9 children and 17 women. It also reported that the Assad regime arrested 9 individuals who had been forcibly returned from Lebanon.
In a report released on Wednesday, the monitoring group said that 158 of these arrests resulted in enforced disappearances.
According to report, the Assad regime was responsible for 128 arrests, including 4 children and 16 women. Additionally, the PYD militia was responsible for 21 arrests, including 3 children, while Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham was behind 19 arrests.
The report broke down the arrests by province, showing that Aleppo recorded the highest number, followed by Damascus, Rural Damascus, Hama, Idlib, Homs, Daraa, and Deir Ezzor.
It also pointed out that returning refugees from Lebanon were specifically targeted for arrest, fleeing from the intensifying Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since September 23. These arrests took place at both official and unofficial border crossings between Syria and Lebanon, with most detainees taken to detention centers in Homs and Damascus. SNHR documented the arrest of at least 9 refugees, mainly from Rural Damascus, linked to mandatory and reserve military conscription.
The report further noted that regime forces arrested several activists in Latakia for criticizing the regime’s security and economic policies. These individuals were taken to regime detention centers in the city.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) reiterated that the Assad regime continues to carry out widespread civilian arrests, maintaining its oppressive tactics. The regime uses arbitrary arrest and brutal torture as tools to punish and silence the Syrian people, preventing them from demanding freedom and a democratic system.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
