Levies for protection | Al-Jabha al-Shamiyah imposes levies on merchants in Azaz city

Aleppo province: SOHR activists have reported that al-Jabha al-Shamiyah faction, which controls Azaz city in the “Euphrates Shield” areas in Aleppo countryside, has imposed levies on merchants and owners of commercial institutions in Azaz city in return of protecting them and their properties from kidnapping and thefts.

 

On the other hand, al-Jabha al-Shamiyah faction sent several representatives, last week, to the merchants and owners of industrial institutions licensed by Azaz Merchants Chamber, demanding them to come to al-Jabha al-Shamiyah headquarters in Azaz city to be informed about the new decision issued by the “Security Office of al-Jabha al-Shamiyah” under the name of “protection taxes”.

 

According to the new decision, all merchants and owners of commercial institutions had to register their names at the Security office and pay monthly levies based on the wealth of each merchant.

 

Meanwhile, merchants and owners of industrial institutions fear that the new decision has been issued with the aim to be an excuse by al-Jabha al-Shamiyah to be aware of the wealth of merchants and owners of commercial institutions, in order to blackmail, kidnap or intimidate them later to collect ransoms and impose large levies in return for providing protection for them.