The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

“Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham” atracts more young men and boys into its camps through advocacy campaigns and opens affiliating applications to increase its staff and fighters

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham opening requests for joining its 4 armies, in order to increase the number of its members, these armies are: Army of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Army of Omar Bin al-Khattab, Army of Osman Bin Affan, Army of Ali bin Abi Talib, it also requested “snipers”, and in the same context, on Friday, the 6th of September 2019, the supporters and Sharia men of “Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham” held an incitation call meeting in Idlib city, as part of “Jahid Binafsik” (carry out Jihad with yourself) campaign, where the meeting had several speeches calling for joining Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and religious chants, with the aim of gaining sympathy of civilians and bringing young people and boys to their ranks.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 4th of September 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored a new violation with in the series of continuous violations by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham within its controlled areas in Idlib province and the surrounding countryside, where the Syrian Observatory learned that a “security” patrol of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham pursued a car on al-Dana Road in the northern countryside of Idlib, where the members opened fire at the car which caused it to hit the side of the road, then it turned out that the car is driven by a doctor working in Ma’arrat Mesrin hospital, who is from the staff of Aleppo’s displaced people after the siege, and without members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham even listening to him they took him out of the car and shot at his feet, they beat him with the stock of the gun on his head then he was taken to Bab al-Hawa Hospital, in turn, and Bab al-Hawa Hospital announced the suspension of all its activities as a result of the physical and verbal abuse the doctor suffered, and as a result of violating the sanctity of the hospital and its medical staff, the verbal insults, threats of arrest, and not allowing them to perform their medical duty towards the injured person, and breaking into the operating room and removing the injured person from the hospital without receiving the necessary treatment and transferring him to an unknown destination.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 26th of August 2019 that Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that a group belongs to Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham dismantled the “cellular” communications towers in the towns of Anjarah and Qebtan al-Jabal in the western countryside of Aleppo, and sold them to scrap iron traders within areas of control of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, amid resentment among the people of the sabotage practices carried out by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham against public facilities, of dismantling and looting during its control time which was so busy with that, like dismantling of the railway, oil pipelines, factories, industrial plants, power plants, electrical wires, communications towers, and telephone wires, and in another context Hayyaat Tahrir at al-Sham and its security force are still clamping down and pursuing activists in its areas of control in Idlib province, where Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham arrested on Sunday afternoon a media activist from his home in the western countryside of Aleppo, and confiscated his equipment completely and took him to an unknown destination.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 24th of August 2019 that arbitrary arrests of activists continue in areas controlled by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, in conjunction with popular tension due to the defeats that the factions suffered in recent clashes in the southern countryside of Idlib, where members of the security force of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham arrested a media activist working at “Idlib Media Center” on Friday evening from his home in the Idlib city, and took him to an unknown destination, amid demands for his release, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 22nd of August 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the security services of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham arrested 6 persons from the people of Kafr Zita city in the northern countryside of Hama, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; they were arrested near Bab Al-Hawa crossing point north of Idlib at the Syrian border with Iskenderun while they were preparing for a sit-in under the name “against the handing over of Hama countryside to the regime forces”, and they were taken to unknown destination.

The SOHR published on the 2nd of August 2019, that Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham arrested a defected colonel of the regime forces, who is the new commander of the Free Idlib Army and a member of the Command Council of the National Liberation Front, where he was arrested by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham with his escort on al-Ghazawiyah checkpoint, which separates areas of control of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham from areas of control of the Turkey-loyal factions near Darat Azza in the western countryside of Aleppo, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 25th of July 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that a force of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham arrested a media activist from his home in Ebin village in the western sector of Aleppo countryside, where he was taken to an unknown destination without any information yet about the reasons of the arrest, amid fears for his life and popular discontent in the area, and demands for his release, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 23rd of July 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from reliable sources that Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham has arrested a group of people of those who have been deported by the Turkish authorities in the frame of Turkey’s latest campaign against the Syrian refugees in Turkey, where the group was arrested while entering to the Syrian territory, then they were released except a Christian young man from Al-Salamiyeh city in Hama countryside, where he was taken to unknown destination.

And the SOHR published on the 15th of July 2019, that it learned that violent clashes erupted between an Islamic faction against Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, in Al-Talhiyeh village east of Idlib, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory’s activists; a security force of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham has raided several houses in Al-Talhiyeh village in search for wanted people, where violent clashes erupted between the raiding force against a group operating under the banner of “Jaysh Al-Ahrar” in an attempt to prevent Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham from arresting the wanted people, which resulted in the fall of injuries in the ranks of the rebel members, while the SOHR learned that civilian dignitaries and some of the military commanders are trying to intervene to break up the disagreement in the villages.

While the SOHR published on the 27th of June 2019, that gunmen of “Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham” raided the office of Free Aleppo Province Council branch in al-Huta town in the western countryside of Aleppo, and confiscated all its contents of equipment and vehicles, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 19th of June 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from several sources that a lieutenant of the regime forces who defected more than 8 years ago, died in a prison of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib Province, where the news of his death in prisons of Tahrir al- reached his relatives 2 days ago, but no information about whether it was a natural death or if he died under torture or liquidated, it should be noted that the lieutenant is from Tremseh  town in Hama countryside and he was arrested by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham earlier on charges of “collaborating with outside bodies”.

And the Syrian Observatory published on the 15th of June 2019 that members of Hayyaat Tahrir of al-sham informed inhabitants of 2 villages in the eastern countryside of Idlib to evacuate them completely, because both of them are located on the contact line with the regime forces, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham informed people of the villages of Halban east of Maarrat Al-Nu’man, and al-Sayyad village east of Jarjanaz city in the southeastern countryside of Idlib; to evacuate them, where a number of villagers have evacuated after being informed by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, while some people still refuse to get out of their homes, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 21st of March 2019 that a force of Tahrir al-Sham raided the random camps known as the camps of al-Bu Issa, al-Madrasa camp, al-Dahrouj camp, and Kafriya camp, all located on the road of Idlib – Ma’arrat Mesrin, where the raid took place with heavily armed vehicles filled with heavy and medium weapons, and expelled the displaced people there in the random camps, the Syrian Observatory also learned that the ownership of these farmland belongs to the people of Kafriya and al-Fu’ah who were displaced from their towns under a prior agreement, and the Syrian Observatory published on Wednesday that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored shooting in Armanaz town in the countryside of Idlib Province, it took place on Tuesday evening, but the information were conflicted about the incident between a family dispute among two families in the town, and between a shooting by a member of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham targeted a members of al-Sham Corps in the town, where the shooting caused injuries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 29th of December 2018 that an agreement was reached between Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and the family of the child, who was killed on the 22nd of December 2018, by the gunshot of a member of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham on the administrative border between the western countryside of Aleppo and the northern countryside of Idlib, and the statement of the agreement says: “on the 22nd of Rabi’ al-Thani 1420 Hijri; corresponding to the 29th of the 12th month of 2018 AD, and with the presence of a group of scholars and dignitaries of the area, both parties agreed on the incident of the killing of the child Bilal al-Hammoud on the 14th of Rabi’ al-Thani 1440 Hijri, corresponding to 22-12-2017 AD, on Batbu checkpoint, that the killing was unintentional, and the first party is the department of checkpoints of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, while the second party is the child’s Bilal al-Hammoud’s parents; Hammoud Khaled al-Hamoud and the mother of the child, and they have agreed to consensual payment by the first party to be payed to the second party, and according to that both parties signed”

The Syrian Observatory published on the 22nd of December 2018 that  it monitored resentment after a checkpoint of a security force of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham killed and injured civilians on the administrative border between the western countryside of Aleppo and the northern countryside of Idlib, and in the details confirmed by sources for the Observatory, a member of the checkpoint opened fire on a bus carrying civilians from al-Lataminah, because the driver refused to register the passage of the car from area’s garage, where the member threatened to shoot him if he continue on his way without paying for the ticket, which provoked the driver and pushed him to continue his way, and the member shot him, which caused casualties among the citizens who were in the bus, where a kid was killed and a man was injured at the junction of Batbu area, which ignited the resentment and condemnation of the people from these abuses, violations, and killings of civilians, either by targeting them directly or in the clashes that take place every now and then in the Syrian north between the factions fighting for influence.

It is noteworthy that the prominent Libyan leader, Abdel Aziz Sahad, known as Abu Omar al-Libi, appeared in late November 2018 in a video threatening to “teach al-Julani and his group some manners”, where the Syrian Observatory published yesterday that tension prevails within the ranks of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, on the background of a raid by members from Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and searching a house in Babkeh village in the western countryside of Aleppo during the last 48 hours, where members of the security force of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham raided the house under the pretext of searching for a wanted person while he was at the home with his wife, who tried to prevent the patrol from entering, until her husband disappeared from sight, but the members broke into the house violating the sanctity of the house and its residents, and the woman accused Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham of break into the house while she was not wearing a “sharia dress,” and that they did not give her enough time to “cover herself,” also members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham broke into the house, inspected it, and catch up with the “wanted man” and killed him by shooting at him.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received a copy of a video showing the woman (wife of the man killed by the Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham) explaining how members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham entered her home and broke into it while she was not wearing her full clothes. At the end of the video the Libyan leader Abdulaziz Sahd known Abu Omar al-Libi appeared threatening the leader of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Muhammad al-Joulani and another leader, and the message he said that this is not the first time Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham have done such thing, storming houses of people without caring for the sanctity of the home and its women, like what happened in Aleppo province, Sarmin, and now this in the western countryside of Aleppo. Abu Omar al-Libi also threatened al-Julani and said “if you don not teach your group some manners, I will”

It worth mentioning that Abdul Aziz Sahd aka Abu Omar al-Libi, is one of the first “jihadis” who came to Syria in 2011, and is one of the few jihadis known by their full name among the citizens, where he participated in many battles in Aleppo countryside, Aleppo city, al-Raqqah battle, clashes in countryside of Homs, Rif Dimashq, al-Qalamoun, Latakia and Kasab against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them since 2014, and he fights without a faction or banner with a group of fighters with him.