The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Regime’s security forces raid areas in the Eastern Qalamoun in Rif Dimashq searching for wanted and deserters from the conscription

Rif Dimashq Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: cities and towns of the Eastern Qalamoun in the Rif Dimashq are witnessing almost daily raids by regime’s security branches; against homes of people deserted the conscription service after they were thrown into the first rows of battles, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: regime’s NDF militia raided tens of houses during the past week, which belong to families of deserters soldiers and their relatives in the villages of Jiroud, al-Atnah, Nasiriyah, Mansoura, and AL-      Dumayr in the Eastern Qalamoun in Rif Dimashq, with the aim of arresting them, coincided with tightening the security on checkpoints of the regime’s security around the Eastern Qalamoun by closing all entrances and exits leading to it, and by preventing residents from moving outside their villages, except for students of Universities and institutes, also the security operation was accompanied by a significant security tightening by al-Qtifa checkpoint, which is considered the largest checkpoints of the regime in the area that still carry out security checks for all people who pass through it; in search of wanted for security branches and the military service, while the people of the wanted young men for compulsory service and the 5th Corps are trying to pay bribes and large sums in order to stop the search for their sons, and to keep their place of service in relatively safe places, while the regime forces are breaking the settlement agreements that prevent the prosecution of those who had settlements.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 20th of August 2019 that reliable sources told the Syrian Observatory that the State Security Branch which is responsible for Douma city in Rif Dimashq; expelled patrols of the military police while they were spreading in Douma city searching for people wanted for conscription, and imposing financial royalties on civilians in exchange for not arresting them, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: expelling the military police from the neighborhoods of Douma came after their repeated entry to the city, and making temporary checkpoints to extort civilians who are hiding trying not to serve in the army of the regime in exchange for money, where patrols of the military police in charge of Douma met with State Security officers and agreed not to enter the city, and to hand over lists of people wanted for the mandatory and reserve services to the police of the Ministry of Interior and to the State Security branch, local sources from Douma city confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the decision came from the Russians to remove the military police from the area, after receiving complaints from people of Douma and after receiving reports from Russian informants that tens of people of Douma have disappeared by the military police to negotiate with their relatives for money in exchange for their release so they do not get transferred to the military investigation on charges of deserting the service. The military police had entered Douma before more than once and randomly arrested tens of young men in order to blackmail them in exchange for not being arrested and being takes for the conscription.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 12th of August 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime’s security services have arrested about 100 young men from the Eastern Ghouta of those who have had their situations settled and volunteered within the ranks of the regime forces, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the arrests came after the branches of the regime’s security services had received security reports against a large number of the area’s people, on charge of fighting against the regime forces and participating in military actions for the benefit of the opposition factions during the period of their control over the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, and most of the arrested persons are descended from the towns of Saqba, Kafr Batna, Hamouriyyeh, Arbin, Jisrayn, Al-Maliha, Zabadin and Seir Al-Asafir, where a large number of them were arrested from their military barracks in Daraa, Al-Suwaidaa and Homs, also the SOHR learned that about 15 detainees of them have been taken to Sednaya Military Prison after questioning them.

And the SOHR published on the 4th of August 2019, that a patrol of the State Security Branch of regime’s security services carried out on Saturday a raid and arrest operation; against homes of 3 young people of the Douma city and arrested them, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the raid took place in Tayseer Taha neighborhood, which is one of the largest residential neighborhoods in Douma city, during which the 3 young men were arrested, they were former fighters of “Jaish al-Islam” faction and carried out “reconciliations and settlements” and preferred to stay in the city than to go to the Syrian north, where they were transferred to the State Security Branch in Douma, it worth mentioning that Douma city is constantly witnessing raids and arrests, as well as forced conscription against those who chose the settlement and those who deserted the compulsory and reserve service, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 2nd of August 2019 the locals of Douma city in the Eastern Ghouta live deteriorated service and living conditions, in the shadow of the absence of basic services in the city and the damage to infrastructure due to the bombardment that the city had been subjected to in the past years during the factions’ control over it, local sources informed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that the water network that feeds the neighborhoods of the city, is still out of service until today, which forced the locals to extract water manually from the wells that were dug during the past years of the siege that had been imposed over the city, in the shadow of the repeated interruptions and breakdowns in the electricity network, where the locals are compelled to buy potable water at high prices up to 1000 SYL for a single barrel, in addition to the government institutions’ ignorance towards the removing of the rubble of destroyed buildings from the residential neighborhoods in the city, the city also suffers from deterioration of the internal roads that link the city’s neighborhoods together, also the major road to the capital Damascus, due to the accumulation of the rubble of buildings destroyed by the bombardment that has affected the city during the previous years.

And the SOHR published on the 17th of July 2019, that, And the SOHR published on the 17th of July 2019, that regime’s security branches have confiscated homes of tens of displaced people in the Eastern Ghouta since the beginning of last month, and closed most of them completely after expelling its residents and stealing their furniture, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: patrols of the military security branch of the regime forces raided more than 70 houses in various towns in the Eastern Ghouta, which are owned by members of the opposition factions and other civilians who were displaced to the Syrian north, and local sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that security patrols expelled about 15 families from their homes in Saqba town after warnings them to evacuate in just one week, and imposed control on them after confiscating all their contents, while military security ordered about 20 houses to be evacuated in Hazza town and 10 others in Kafr Batna town, and several houses of displaced people in the towns of Beit Sawa, Ain Tarma, and Hamouriyah during the same operation.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 13th of July 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that 2 fighters of the “settlement” factions died under torture in the security detention centers of the Syrian regime, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; a fighter from Douma city and another one from Kafr Batna town died under torture inside Saidnaya Military Prison about 5 months after being arrested, where their bodies were delivered to their families yesterday, Friday, and the two fighters had been operating within the ranks of the factions before they had their situation settled after the Syrian regime imposed its control over the Eastern Ghouta, where they were arrested after that, despite the alleged settlement, and taken then to Saidnaya Military Prison.

And the Syrian Observatory published on the 24th of June 2019, that the Syrian regime’s security services transferred more detainees from the Eastern Ghouta to Sednaya military prison in the past few days, after finishing the investigation with them, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: more than 70 detainees within the al-Khatib branch of the State Security in the capital Damascus and the Air Force Intelligence branch in Harasta, were transferred to Sednaya detention center, where most of the detainees are from areas of Hamouriyah, Douma, Saqba, Jesrin, KafrBatna, and al-Maliha, of who formerly used to be among the ranks of the rebel factions during their control of Eastern Ghouta, and participated in clashes against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them then decided to carry out “settlements and reconciliation” after refusing to be displaced, in addition to the presence of civilians among the detainees, they were arrested on the backdrop of various charges, including “terrorist financing and contacting an outside bodies”, and they were transferred to Sednaya prison with the militaries.

And the Syrian Observatory published on the 30th of April 2019 that reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the regime’s intelligence services have transferred tens of detainees of the people of the Eastern Ghouta to Sednaya Military Prison, after interrogation had been accomplished in the security branches after arresting them on various charges after the regime forces had imposed their control over the area and after the exit of the military factions from the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus and evacuating them to the Syrian North, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the detainees who were taken to Sednaya Prison, were detained in Al-Khateeb branch in the capital Damascus, and the Air Force Intelligence’s branch in Harasta city, and both branches are affiliated to the Air Force Intelligence, where the number of detainees exceeded 100, most of them were former fighters in the rebel and Islamic factions which fought against the regime forces in the Eastern Ghouta, and they were arrested although they struck “reconciliation and settlement deals” and received guarantees that they would not be targeted by the security branches, where they had been transferred to Sednaya after being questioned in the security branches and after proving the charges directed to them of engaging in clashes against the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them in the past years during the opposition factions’ control over the Eastern Ghouta.

And the Syrian Observatory published on the 27th of April 2019 that the security services of the regime forces have arrested 3 citizen women with their children who are from Al-Dumayr city east of the capital Damascus, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the arrest took place at the checkpoint of “Al-Baz Station” in Adra city in the north-east of the capital Damascus, while the women were returning from the Syrian North to their town, and the checkpoint is affiliated to the Air Force Intelligence, where the women were taken to “Al-Maham Branch” in Damascus, the children were also arrested and sent later via a mediator to Al-Dumayr city while the women were maintained in the detention center, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 23rd of April 2019, that regime’s security intelligence continue their raid and arrest operation in the Eastern Ghouta, where the Syrian Observatory learned from several reliable sources that the security services of regime’s intelligence arrested 7 women of who work in the field of “Islamic Dawa” (calling to Islam, like preachers do) in Douma city northeast of Damascus, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the arrests took place in different times over the past few days and weeks, where prosecuting the females preachers was not confined to arresting them, but extended to become an extortion process for some of them, where intersected sources confirmed that one of the released female preachers of the seven arrested females, was arrested at “al-Khatib branch” in the capital Damascus, and she was investigated about her preaching-related activities in giving lessons about the Islamic religion, and her relationship with the military factions which used to exist in the Eastern Ghouta, the sources added that officers in the branch asked her to pay an amount of money to close her file in the branch and not to call her again for investigation, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 21st of April 2019, that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from intersected sources that the intelligence services of the regime forces, carried out raids and arrested people in al-Tal city north of the capital Damascus, where the branch of the Air Force Intelligence raided specific houses in the city during the last few days, and arrested a citizen and his wife, in addition to 3 other youths from the city, and they were taken to an unknown destination until the moment, and no information about the reasons for the arrest until now, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 19th of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from several reliable sources, that the intelligence services of the regime forces carried out this week massive raids and arrested tens of people in “al-Dumayr” city northeast of the capital Damascus, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory, the military security branch raided tens of houses and arrested about 40 youths of who “defected from the regime forces” previously and subsequently carried out settlements and reconciliations in the past years, and they were taken to an unknown destination until the moment, the sources added to the Syrian Observatory that the military security did not notify the detainees in advance in order to join the ranks of the “Army of the Homeland”, and in the same context, members of one of the military checkpoints of the regime forces in the area between al-Dumayr city and the capital Damascus arrested in the past week 3 citizen women of al-Dumayr; as they tried to go towards the capital Damascus on charges of “their husbands belong to the Islamic State”.

And the Syrian Observatory published on the 12th of April 2019, that regime’s authorities issued new lists of names; for precautionary-seizing movable and immovable property of hundreds of people, of the activists of the peaceful revolutionary movement and of those who fought against the regime forces in the Eastern Ghouta, perhaps most notably of whom is the commander of Jaysh al-Islam (Essam al-Buwaydhani), and all members of his family in the Eastern Ghouta, and the Syrian Observatory obtained information that this seizing affected several members of local councils, their wives, media activists, some workers in relief and medical sectors, and others people who are detained in regime’s prisons. This precautionary-seizing prevents the people from being entitled to dispose of their movable and immovable property, or to dispose of contracts of sale or purchase completely until the end of the dispute or judicial proceedings against them, however, due to the fact that the people whose property and money have been precautionary-seized, and that most of them are oppositionists and outside of control of the regime forces; the precautionary-seize turns from precautionary to almost final, because they will not be able to follow the cases filed against them, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 8th of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that authorities of the Syrian regime have issued a decision to execute several children in the Eastern Ghouta, who have been detained for years, who had a big involvement in the opposition movement against the regime in the area, and the sources confirmed that the reconciliation committee in Harasta city in the Eastern Ghouta informed 5 families in the city of the death sentence for their children in March 2019, but without giving them any additional information wither the decision was carried out or about the fate of bodies of their children after the execution, it worth mentioning that the reconciliation committee in the city worked to move the file of people detained by the regime forces to release them, of who were arrested between 2011 and 2012, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 4th of April 2019 that violations and abusive practices continue to be committed by the regime forces and their security services in the Eastern Ghouta, despite the lie of “reconciliation” it witnessed, where mentioned area of the great human reservoir its property has become violated, the security branches are racing to fill their tanks of citizens’ funds and possessions, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that the intelligence of the regime forces carried out in the past few weeks raid operations and systematic arrests in towns and cities of the Eastern Ghouta, where the raids and arrests were concentrated on homes of civilian and relief personalities who sued to work in service and administrative institutions and other institutions that opposed to the regime, and reliable sources confirmed that the Air Intelligence of the regime forces summoned former people of opinion and some of other people of known families in the Eastern Ghouta in addition to detainees during their raids, and they intimidated them by claiming that there were security reports against them, and blackmailed them to pay large amounts which reached about 12000 USD per person in order to destroy the security report by the head of the branch.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 2nd of April 2019 that residents and people in the areas which witnessed “reconciliations and settlements”, are still paying the price of not accepting to be displaced and move to the Syrian north, where the harassment and abuse continue to be carried out against them by regime’s intelligence and security services, such as arrests and abuses against them all over the areas that witnessed reconciliations of Ghouta, Qalamoun, the Syrian south, and central Syria, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Air Intelligence in the Eastern Qalamoun area, arrested a whole family consists of a mother and her 4 daughters on charges of “making a phone call to Idlib”, and sources informed the Syrian Observatory that regime’s intelligence has lists of names on their checkpoints for anyone who makes “communications with the Syrian north,” in particular, the citizen women, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 1st of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that the National Security Agency responsible for settlements of the regime forces, prevented about 150 people from the towns of Ein Khadra, Ain al-Fijah, and Bsima in Wadi Barada in Rif Dimashq; from returning to their home although they have made previous settlements, and most of them have volunteered in the forces of the 4th Division and the Republican Guards, where the sources confirmed that elders of Wadi Barada and the officials of the settlement and reconciliation have notified the aforementioned people with the decision of prevention, and that they need to check with the security branches in the capital, because there are different cases against them, and in the same context, intersected sources confirmed that the military checkpoints of the regime forces around these towns did not allow their families to return and inspect their homes; except with security approval issued by the notorious Branch of Filastin, and after obtaining the security clearance -if it was ever granted- they are allowed to visit their houses for a period of no more than 5 hours, and they are not allowed to move between neighborhoods at the time of the visit, it worth mentioning that the area was controlled by the regime forces in late January 2017 after violent clashes ended by the regime forces controlling them and displacing those who refused to stay in it and settle their situations.