Large number of children and women arrested during their attempt to move from Rif Dimashq and its surroundings towards factions’ areas in the Syrian north
Rif Dimashq Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from intersected sources that the regime forces arrested on one of their checkpoints on the outskirts of the capital; a number of women and children as they were heading towards the Syrian north, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them who are positioned in a checkpoint on outskirts Damascus arrested about 20 women and several children with them, while they were heading towards al-Bab city in the northern countryside of Aleppo, to go to their families and their displaced husbands, and took them to the Syrian intelligence branch in al-Khatib in the capital, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 16th of March 2019 that reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the Russian police with the regime forces began a new operation in several areas of the Eastern Ghouta, the aim of which is to search for weapons buried in the area by the factions, before their departure under an agreement to the Syrian north, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the Russian police and the regime forces started through drilling workshops, equipment, and sophisticated devices to search for buried weapons in Jesrin agricultural land of al-Mohammedia town at the entrance of the middle sector from the southern side of Eastern Ghouta, and the areas of al-Nashabiyah, Marj al-Sultan, and al-Aftries within al-Marj sector in the Ghouta, with the help of former faction fighters who carried out “reconciliation and settlement”, where the searches have been taking place for several days on a daily basis, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 12th of March 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received information that the regime forces carried out yesterday a massive raid and arrest operation in several areas in the Eastern Ghouta, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: a column of tens of vehicles with a lot of members of the regime forces entered the towns of Saqba and KafrBatna in the Eastern Ghouta, where they closed some roads in both towns and carried out a large-scale raids operation and arrested 9 people, and they were taken to an unknown destination, and no information about the reasons of the arrest until now, and the Syrian Observatory published yesterday that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the other face of the chaos in regime forces’-controlled areas, where the Syrian Observatory learned from intersected sources from Douma city in the Eastern Ghouta, that checkpoints the Air Force Intelligence and the regime forces which are deployed in the city and its surroundings, are conducting thefts and systematic looting in homes and warehouses in Douma, whose families have been displaced to the Syrian north, and intersected sources confirmed that the checkpoints at midnight of every day are firing sporadically at the neighborhood which will be stolen, where the members steal shops, cars, and houses, despite the people seeing these thefts, but the security situation of the residents and their settlements and reconciliation force them to remain silent in this situation, fearing arrest by those to who they will complain, and after stealing the property these members sell them in markets of other areas in the vicinity of the capital, while the Syrian Observatory published on the 3rd of March 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime’s intelligence arrested in the past few days and in batches, 18 persons of those who were former members of the “Civil Defense” during the factions’ control over the Eastern Ghouta, where the 18 persons were arrested by the Air Force Intelligence in Saqba, Harasta and Zamalka in the Eastern Ghouta, without information about the reasons for these arrests, although they chose the settlements and reconciliations after the regime forces imposed their control over the area, and the Syrian Observatory published yesterday, Saturday, that like all the areas that the regime forces re-controlled by military operations with the support of their allies or through “reconciliations and settlements”; the cities, towns, and villages of the northern countryside of Homs are witnessing security operations by regime’s intelligence and security branches, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored in the past few days an increase in the security operations in most of the northern countryside of Homs, in which “reconciliations and settlements” took place, after which tens of people were arrested, and the largest number of arrest took place in al-Rastan city, also the Syrian Observatory documented that regime’s intelligence arrested more than 60 person mid Last week, most of them were in al-Rastan city and most of them were under the age of eighteen, and these arrests were accompanied by the spread of paper clippings in al-Rastan at al-Omari mosque, some of them read: “The Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham, al-Maghawir forces, Abu Bakr al Siddiq Regiment.. behind the enemy lines”, and the Syrian Observatory published yesterday that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the security branches continue their operations in the Eastern Ghouta, where regime’s intelligence carried out raids and arrested people in Kafr Batna town, after which they arrested at least 12 people including former fighters of factions who carried out “reconciliation and settlements”, and other people who used to work in the relief during the faction’s control of the Eastern Ghouta, but no information at the moment about the reasons for the arrest, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 20th of February 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored during the past few days a massive fortification by the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them for their checkpoints in the Eastern Ghouta with dirt barricades and concrete blocks, reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the checkpoints in the Eastern Ghouta and its surroundings, especially those located in the area between the capital and Eastern Ghouta had witnessed last week double fortification with dirt barricades and concrete blocks, after changing the checkpoint, where the regime forces replaced members of the “Republican Guards” with members from the branches of Air Intelligence and Military Security, to conduct more scrutiny inspections on the people who are getting out and entering the area, also -as local sources said- to tighten the security grip on the area especially with the bad reputation of both branches among the citizens, and their treatment, arrests, and torture
Where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 17th of February 2019 that a young man from Harasta city, was killed under torture inside the security detention centers of the regime forces after he was arrested at one of the checkpoints at the outskirts of the capital Damascus before 15 days, it is noteworthy that the young man had carried out a “reconciliation and a settlement” in Harasta city in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, during the return of the regime’s control over the area there, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 14th of February 2019, that the regime forces killed a 17-year-old boy as he was passing a checkpoint west of Rif Dimashq, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the regime forces who are positioned in Mamlouk checkpoint on the outskirts of Zakyah town west of Rif Dimashq; opened fire directly at a young man as he was passing in a car near the checkpoint, where the sources confirmed that the car could not stop on the checkpoint so the checkpoint’s members shoot the car, killing a young man in the car, which sparked tension and discontent among the people because of these continuous behaviors that lead to casualties every time, while this tension among members of the regime forces comes after continuous operations in Daraa countryside and Rif Dimashq of writings on the walls, attacking checkpoints by unknown gunmen, and tearing pictures of the Syrian regime’s head, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 6th of February 2019 that the Syrian Observatory monitored in the recent days tearing the image of Syrian regime President, Bashar al-Assad in the square of Qudsaya area on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, accompanied by writing phrases against the Syrian regime on walls in the town, like: “the people want to overthrow the regime, Leave, Freedom Forever,” “followed by continues tension in the town searching for the perpetrators to detain them, also the phrases were removed from the walls on which they were written, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 22nd of December 2018 that several local sources in the south of Rif Dimashq confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that Yalda town -which witnessed the displacement of its fighters and residents who rejected the agreement of the “Reconciliation with the regime”- has been witnessing tension for about 48 hours, accompanied with security tightening in the town, where several locals confirmed that unknown gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a security detachment of the regime forces on Yalda town south of Rif Dimashq, but no information about casualties, this was followed by closing the streets leading to the security detachment using concrete checkpoints by the regime forces, where this comes days of unknown people teared the picture of the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, which was hanging on the health center in the town, followed by arrests and raids in the town searching for the perpetrators.