Amid growing public panic | Regime forces besiege Talbiseh city and start military fortifications in and around the city
Regime forces have imposed a security siege around Talbiseh city in Homs countryside, except for one corridor, while members stationed at checkpoints and military battalions in the city and on its outskirts started fortifications, such as erecting soil barriers, establishing new guarding points and bulwarks and closing all outlets leading to the city, except for only one entrance, so that regime forces make sure that no infiltration operations or attacks will target their troops in light of the considerable deteriorating security situation in the city in the recent time.
SOHR sources have reported that the military command of the Special Forces Battalion stationed on Homs-Hama highway to the south of Talbiseh city have brought in heavy machineries which started erecting two-metre-high soil barriers, as well as distributing tens of barrels to establish fortified bulwarks along the soil barrier which stretches for nearly one kilometer to the east of the battalion, along with opening holes to be used by the guards to shoot in the building which had been seized by the battalion nearly four years ago.
Similarly, members of the Special Forces Battalion stationed in a residential house on the road to Al-Rastan in the north of Talbiseh city imposed similar procedures, including erecting soil barriers and establishing fortified bulwarks, with the aim of protecting them from any possible attacks which may target officials responsible for running daily patrols on Homs-Hama highway (M5) in order to make sure that civil and military vehicles will not be subjected to attacks by gangs of kidnappers .
Escalating military movements trigger panic among residents
Speaking to SOHR, a civilian in his sixties known as “Abu Mohamed” from Talbiseh city said “we experienced scores of violations, which manifest themselves in arrest campaigns and inspection of houses by regime forces since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution. Recently, we do not know which parties and individuals we should take care of, especially since the individuals involved in looting, thefts, killing, kidnapping and terrorism are from the city and surrounding villages. The fortification operations have triggered panic among us, amid concerns about new raid operations in the city, because of the deteriorating security situation and increasing crime rate, especially with the inability of intellectuals, scientists and clergymen to put an end to the inhumane practices and crimes committed by thieves and bandits.”
Accusations against regime authorities and Hezbollah of supporting gangs
An engineer from Talbiseh city known by his initials as A. S. told SOHR “it is common knowledge now that no attacks target security stations and military checkpoints in the city and its outskirts by those gunmen who tour the city’s streets in the day light under the pretext that their rifles are for personal protection from treachery by members of regime forces. However, the situation of the ground proves that ringleaders enter the military security station which is headed by Majur Qusayy, who support gangs and provide security cover for them in return for taking the largest share of revenue of thefts and ransoms, where incidents of kidnapping civilians are documented almost daily. Gangs operating in Talbiseh city, which are headed by different individuals, the most prominent of whom are Salim Al-Najjar, Bashar Al-Daher, Obaydah Al-Daher, Hossam Al-Arfan and Madin Hadeed, are responsible for the incidents of kidnapping civilians and drug business, where all of those ringleaders have strong ties with Jaafar Jaafar, who is backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah and lives in Al-Hazimiyah village, inhabited mostly by Shiite civilians in the north-eastern countryside of Homs.
Inactive role by dignitaries and elders
Despite attempts by dignitaries and elders of Talbiseh city to for a family council in the past year with the aim of controlling the security situation in the city and circumvent threats by Major General Hossam Luqa during his meeting with a delegation of the city’s elders, all efforts to form the council failed and the role of the city’s elders and dignitaries to mediate and assure peace and security in the city and surrounding villages remained inactive.
The meeting was attended then by the head of the security and military committee in Homs and several heads of intelligence branches, who announced launching a security campaign under a military cover by troops stationed at checkpoints around the city, if the dignitaries did not put an end to the practices of gangs in the city.
A dignitary from Talbiseh city, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, told SOHR activists that the problem is based on two pillars, the first one is the fact that everyone want to face the armed gangs, then they have to face the security stations which provide those gangs with information and ammunitions on many occasions. This means that the individuals who decide to work on eliminating thieves and drug dealers will be targeted by the security branches, as those individuals will drains a major source of income to security officials who take shares of revenue of drug business and ransoms.
The second pillar, according to the source, is manifested in the fact that allowing the entry of regime forces to the city to start a security campaign will lead to renewing the conflict between the residents and regime forces, just like the situation during the early years of the Syrian Revolution, let alone the arbitrary arrests which will target thousands of people from Talbiseh city and surrounding villages, especially since nearly 6,800 persons are wanted by the regime’s security branches over lawsuits, accusations of terrorism and evading mandatory conscription.
Residents call for suspending transportation of goods to the city in order to put an end to looting by force
Residents in Talbiseh city have issued a circular yesterday on social media, calling for preventing the entry of any cargo trucks to the city, so that their drivers would not be attacked and robbed by gangs operating in the city. This circular comes after the city’s residents having lost hope to find a solution putting an end to the frequent attacks.
It is worth noting that Talbiseh city is the only city in the northern countryside of Homs to come under the de-escalation agreement, which was struck between armed factions and regime forces with Russian sponsorship in 2018. According to the agreement, no patrols of the regime’s security, supply or customs services are allowed to enter the city, because the city hosts a large number of gunmen who still oppose the Syrian regime.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah members, the heads of security branches and regime officers have exploited the situation of security disorder in Talbiseh city to recruit people of the region for their personal interests, although the city’s people completely reject all practices by thieves and bandits who enjoy immunity ensuring that they cannot be prosecuted or arrested.
