Regime-controlled areas in February 2023 | Nearly 230 fatalities in acts of violence…16 murders…escalating security chaos…earthquake further burdens civilians

Regime-controlled areas experienced scores of dramatic developments in February 2023, including an alarming escalation of violence, worsening living conditions, tightening security grip and ongoing arbitrary arrests.

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has monitored and tracked all key developments in regime-controlled areas in the past month, which can be summarised in the following main points:

 

 

Acts of violence leave many casualties

 

In February 2023, regime-controlled areas saw an alarming escalation of acts of violence that left many casualties, where SOHR documented the death of 227 people across areas controlled by the Syrian regime and affiliated militias; the deaths are as follows:

 

 

Civilian fatalities

 

128 civilians, including five children and five women. Here are further details of the circumstances of these deaths:

 

• 16 people, including two women and two children, were murdered.

 

• 21 people, including a woman and three children, were killed in explosions of old ordnance.

 

• Eight civilians, including a woman, were killed in incidents of security chaos in Daraa

 

• 80 civilians, including a woman, were killed by ISIS.

 

• Three civilians died under torture in regime’s prisons.

 

Non-civilian fatalities

 

-89 combatants:

 

• 25 killed by ISIS.

 

• Nine killed in incidents of security disorder in Daraa.

 

• 27 combatants, including two officers, killed by opposition factions and jihadists in “Putin-Erdogan” area.

 

• Four killed in infightings.

 

• Five assassinated in different areas across Syria.

 

-16 Iranian-backed Syrian and non-Syrian militiamen:

 

• Two killed by ISIS.

 

• 13 militiamen were killed in Israeli attacks.

 

• One assassinated in Daraa.

 

-Three gunmen were killed in infightings and an explosion in Rif Dimashq and Hama.

 

 

Kidnappings and arbitrary arrests

 

As regime security and intelligence services continue their repression, SOHR activists documented, in January, the arrest of at least 13 civilians, as well as the kidnapping of 81 others, including two children.

 

A regional breakdown of arbitrary arrests is as follows:

 

• Deir Ezzor: Six people.

 

• Daraa: Five people.

 

• Latakia: One person.

 

• Damascus: One person.

 

 

A regional breakdown of kindaps is as follows:

 

• Homs: 75 people.

 

• Daraa: Five people, including a child.

 

• Hama: A little girl.

 

Here are further details of the arrests and kidnappings documented in the past month:

 

 

Arrests:

 

• February 1: A local group affiliated with military intelligence service stormed Ataman town in the northern countryside of Daraa, arresting five young men for unknown reasons.

 

• February 3: Regime’s security services arrested a civilian from Al-Suwaydaa city at the checkpoint of Qasr Al-Mo’tamarat (the palace of conferences) at the entrance of the capital Damascus, without knowing the charges pressed against him, and he was taken to the regime’s security centres.

 

• February 10: The regime’s security services arrested a civilian for “criticizing the Syrian authorities in a video tape”, where he explained that those distributing rescue aids are forced to obtain security approval to be able to distribute aids on those affected by the earthquake, and criticized the inhuman acts and the theft of rescue materials by the regime.

 

• February 17: Regime security services arrested six people in Deir Ezzor city and countryside for unknown reasons.

 

 

Kidnaps:

 

• February 12: ISIS kidnapped 75 civilians, including women, in Palmyra desert in the eastern countryside of Homs, before setting free some of them, while the fate of 34 people remains unknown.

 

• February 16: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a civilian from Ebtaa town in the middle countryside of Daraa, while he was present in the eastern neighbourhood in Tafs city in western Daraa countryside, where he works in trading wood and logs. The kidnappers contacted the family of the young man and demanded a ransom of 50,000,000 Syrian Liras to release him.

 

• February 16: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a civilian from Ghasm village in eastern Daraa countryside on the road between Al-Jiza and Kahil towns in eastern Daraa, while he was heading to a bakery store in Saida town, while the fate of the young man and the identity of the gang’s members remain unknown.

 

• February 23: An unidentified gang driving a vehicle and four motorbikes intercepted a person, who owns a farm of for cows, and his grandchild and kidnapped them on the road between Al-Ghariya Al-Gharbiya and Al-Ghariya Al-Sharqiya towns, north eastern of Daraa, before fleeing to an unknown destination.

 

• February 23: A surveillance camera in Al-Assad Medical Hospital monitored an unidentified woman kidnapping a girl hours after being born, from the nursery section in Al-Assad Medical Hospital in Hama, where the girl belongs to a woman from Barak village in southern Hama countryside.

 

• February 25: Unidentified gunmen in 4×4 vehicles stormed a camp near a regime’s military barracks between Saida and Kohail towns eastern of Daraa. The gunmen killed a woman, injured her daughter and kidnapped her husband and took him to an unknown destination before fleeing to an unknown destination. The woman hailed from tribes of Al-Asfar village in north eastern Al-Suwaydaa countryside, where she lived with her husband.

 

 

Ongoing public protests in Jabal Al-Arab

 

On February 20, SOHR reported that hundreds of Al-Suwaidaa people staged a mass demonstration dubbed “for you, Syria, the soul is cheap” to denounce the Israeli recurrent violations in the Syrian territory, and demand lift the sanctions imposed on Damascus, which resulted in the deterioration of living conditions, as they described.

 

While on February 21, SOHR reported that dozens of Al-Suwaidaa residents staged a protest, which the “peaceful movement” had called for, in “Al-Karamah” square in the center of Al-Suwaidaa city, where they demanded the legitimate political and civil rights. The protesters lifted placards with slogans written on them calling for Syrian people rights, political change and implementing international resolutions. They also confirmed the unity of the Syrian land. Some of the placards read, “Idlib’s land is Syrian for all Syrians”, “dancing on rubble is shame” and “aid are in safe hands, where are the safe hands?”

 

Also, on February 28, a fight erupted between two civilians at a coffee stall in Al-Karama square in Al-Suwaidaa city centre. This fight coincided with a sit-in protest staged by residents in the square to call for obtaining political and social tights. The fight triggered a state of tension among the protestors for hours, before they continued the protest.

 

 

Crime rate is on the rise

 

Since early 2023, regime-held areas have experienced an alarming escalation of crime rates, in light of the regime security services’ failure to put an end to the state of disorder and rampant security chaos in all Syrian provinces.

 

The Syrian Observatory has documented 16 murders in regime-controlled areas in February 2023, where domestic violence and armed robbery were behind some of these murders, while motivations behind the others remained unknown. These murder crimes left 16 fatalities: two women, 12 young and adult men and two children. The fatalities are distributed regionally as follows:

 

• Rif Dimashq: One murder crime left a man dead.

 

• Latakia: Three murder crimes left a woman and two men dead.

 

• Al-Suwaydaa: Two murder crimes left a child and a man dead.

 

• Homs: Two murder crimes left a child and a young man dead

 

• Daraa: Four murder crimes left four men dead.

 

• Damascus: One murder crime left a woman dead.

 

• Aleppo: One murder crime left a woman dead.

 

• Deir Ezzor: Two murder crimes left two men dead.

 

 

Daraa “the cradle of the Syrian Revolution:” Security chaos noticeably escalates

 

Incidents of security disorder, mainly armed attacks, in Daraa province escalated dramatically in February 2023, where SOHR documented 24 attacks in different areas throughout Daraa province in the period from February 1 to February 28. These attacks left 18 people dead; they are as follows:

 

• Eight civilians, including a woman.

 

• Eight regime military personnel and “collaborators” with security services.

 

• One former fighter who did not join any military formation, after having struck a reconciliation deal.

 

• One members working for the Lebanese Hezbollah.

 

 

Tragic and catastrophic situation following violent earthquake

 

A devastating earthquake hit Syrian territory on February 6 and resulted in the death and injury of thousands of Syrians: 2,243 fatalities were documented in regime-controlled areas. After the earthquake, large amounts of humanitarian aid, provided by many countries, organisations, authorities and donors around the world, have been poured to Syria to help quake-hit civilians. However, the regime’s “Shabiha” (regime loyalists who abuse power and conduct illegal actions for the benefit of the regime) and weak-willed individuals have looted large shares of that aid, which exacerbated the situation further.

 

On February 8, several complaints were issued by residents of Satamo town in Lattakia countryside regarding the absence of rescue aids that were distributed on those affected by the earthquake in the town and neighbourhing villages.

 

This caused a state of discontent among the residents of the town, forcing the regime’s security forces to interfere and solve the issue.

 

Amr Salim, the Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection of the regime’s government, explained that patrols headed to Satamo town and it was revealed that two mayors have distributed the rescue aids on their relatives, where the issue was solved and the aids were distributed on those affected by the earthquake.

 

Residents of the affected villages including Lattakia and its countryside demanded that qualified individuals should be responsible for the distribution of the aids fairly to those in need, amid doubt regarding the integrity of the officials of the regime, who steal the aids without any supervision.

 

SOHR sources also reported growing popular discontent in resettlement centres in regime-controlled areas among the people affected by the devastating earthquake over injustice distribution of assistance by the foundation.

 

According to SOHR sources, officials of Al-Areen Charitable Foundation (former Al-Bostan Association), which had been run by Rami Makhlouf, Bashar Al-Assad’s cousin, before Al-Assad’s wife Asmaa Al-Akhras looted the institution at orders by Russia, and which is responsible for distributing humanitarian assistance in areas controlled by the Syrian regime, mainly in areas along the Syrian coastline, deliberately marginalise the residents of Bostan Al-Basha town, near Jableh city, in Latakia countryside, which is the hometown of Rami Makhlouf, as well as the marginalisation of earthquake-affected people in several village in Jableh area in Latakia province and Al-Qadmous area in Tartus province.

 

It is worth noting that humanitarian assistance is distributed to families and residents who have not been affected by the earthquake, after registering their names, at the same time, earthquake-affected residents do not receive assistance from the foundation, despite the considerable damage to residential houses and collapsing of buildings in Jableh region and Bostan Al-Basha town.

 

In late February, more than 100 people suffered food poisoning, where 33 of them were taken to Al-Jama’a and Al-Razy Hospitals in Aleppo, after they consumed means inside a sheltering centre for those affected by the earthquake, in Bostan Al-Qasr neighbourhood in Aleppo.

 

According to medical sources, the poisoned people felt sick and suffered vomiting and diarrhea, where these symptoms appeared after they consumed free meals provided by the centre, where most cases were treated after hours and some others were left under supervision of the doctors.

 

It is worth noting that the exposure of food to sunlight and high temperature caused the food to rot, in addition to the poor health conditions for civilians during this time.

 

Sheltering centres in Aleppo city suffer inability of securing main daily needs, and shortage of blankets.

 

 

Chronic living crises

 

The tragic situation of Syrian people, who have already been grappling with chronic crises and dire living conditions, is worsening, especially with the sharp freefall of the Syrian pound against the US dollar. Syria Central Bank has set the exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the US dollar at 7,100 SYP; this, in turn, resulted in considerable increase in the prices of foodstuffs and essentials and led to recession on markets in light of the poor purchasing power of the residents. Moreover, the low wages and salaries and ongoing chronic crises have exacerbated the situation further.

 

SOHR activists have toured markets in Damascus and monitored the considerable increase in prices, where the prices of essentials are set as follows:

 

• Lamb meat: from 80,000 to 100,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Apple: 4,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Potato: 1,800 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Orange: 4,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Egg plant: 3,500 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Tomato: 3,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Radish: 1,500 SYP a bundle.

 

Fuels

 

• Gas cylinder: 235,000 SYP.

 

• Diesel: 7,200 SYP per litre.

 

• Petrol: 8,500 SYP per litre.

 

Meanwhile, prices in areas controlled by regime forces and Iranian-backed militias in Deir Ezzor are set as follows:

 

• Banana: 7,500 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Apple: 3,500 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Orange: 3,500 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Lemon: 3,500 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Tomato: 3,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Sugar: 5,500 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Ghee: 73,000 SYP a six-kilogram pack.

 

• Lamb meat: 25,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Lamb fillet: 28,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Beef meat: 15,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

• Chicken meat: 17,000 SYP a kilogram.

 

Moreover, residents in regime-controlled areas are struggling with stifling fuel crisis, while regime authorities seems indifferent to the dire conditions and have failed so far to find a working solutions for the chronic crises.

  

Also, in late February, the Ministry of Internal Trade of the regime’s government issued a resolution that sets a new price for the “Octane 95” benzine, setting the price of one litre to 6,600 Syrian Liras.

 

The Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection “Amr Salim” announced that this price follows the global changes in the price of the material, as explained by the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources when the Octane benzine started being sold in the market.

 

The civilians living in regime areas suffer harsh conditions in light of shortage of job opportunities and the low income level, especially those working in the governmental sector, where the monthly salaries are still less than 150,000 Syrian Liras, which is enough to buy eight litres of benzine.

 

 

Eight assassinations and attacks target combatants

 

In February, SOHR documented eight assassinations and attacks which targeted members of regime forces and security services in Al-Quneitra, Rif Dimashq, Damascus and Deir Ezzor, which left many casualties. Here are further details:

 

• February 1: Two members of the National Defence were injured in armed clashes between members of the 4th Division and members of the National Defence, due to disputes in a “brothel” in Cinema Foaad St. in Deir Ezzor city, where machineguns and hand grenades were used. Meanwhile, the military police and the Internal Security Service “Criminal Security” interfered to break the clashes, amid a state of panic and fear among civilians.

 

• February 4: Two gunmen were killed and others were injured in violent clashes which erupted this morning in Beit Jinn town in Qalamoun area in western Rif Dimashq between a group affiliated with the military intelligence service and another group affiliated with the 4th Division following a family dispute which evolved into clashes.

 

• February 4: A police officer was assassinated in Al-Sha’lan area in Damascus city, as a group of three unidentified individuals blocked his car and stabbed him eight times with sharp tools. It is worth noting that the hit man was a student in his third year in the faculty of law and he was also working as a taxi driver.

 

• February 21: “Fourth Division” security forces executed two members of the air-force intelligence service on the banks of Euphrates river in Ayash town in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor. The execution followed disputes between both sides over smuggling matters. It is noted that the two victims were brothers from “Al-Bosaraya” tribe.

 

• February 24: Unidentified gunmen threw a grenade at the house of a person collaborating with the regime’s security services in Zakiya area in Rif Dimashq, before fleeing to an unknown destination. However, no casualties were reported.

 

• February 25: Unidentified gunmen shot two regime soldiers dead in Qasibah town in the southern countryside of Al-Quneitra near the Syrian Golan.

 

• February 25: A regime soldier died affected by the wounds he sustained, where he was shot by unidentified gunmen in Nabaa’ Al-Sakhr town.

 

• February 27: A regime colonel, who worked as weapon development engineer, was killed in the explosion of an IED planted in his car in Duf Al-Shouk area in Rif Dimashq.

 

 

Ongoing Israeli attacks

 

As Israel continues to violate Syria’s sovereignty, SOHR documented one attack in February, which left casualties and heavy material losses. On February 19, Israeli missiles hit positions where Iranian-backed militias and Lebanese Hezbollah were stationed in an area between Sayeda Zeinab and Al-Diyaba in Rif Dimashq, causing fires and explosions. In addition, the Israeli attack targeted an area near an Iranian school in Kafr Susah, which destroyed a basement and left 15 people dead. Moreover, a missile hit Al-Mazra’a roundabout in Damascus, killing a woman. Furthermore, the radar system battalion in Tel Masih in the south of Shuhabaa in Al-Suwaidaa came under attack.

 

The 15 people who were killed in the hit basement in Kafr Susah are as follows:

 

• Two civilians.

 

• Seven Syrian combatants, including three officers and the escort of Al-Baath Battalion’s leader.

 

• Five unidentified persons.

 

• A member of the military wing of the Lebanese Hezbollah.

 

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has been all along warning against the repercussions of the crippling chronic crises and security chaos in regime-controlled areas and elsewhere in Syria, with only the Syrian regime to blame for the disastrous situation Syria is in right now. We, at the Syrian Observatory, call upon all international actors not to abandon their responsibility and obligations towards the people of Syria and urge them to find a lasting solution to the tragedy of millions of Syrians and bring Al-Assad, his affiliates and all those responsible for violations and those who aided and abetted the killing of Syrian people to justice.