Shabiha looting acts find no restrictions in eastern Hama

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Confiscation and black market trading in its different kinds has returned to all of al-Salamiyah and its countryside. 

The area governed by a very special type of mercenary whose first and perhaps only concern is gathering more money by any means possible without much attention to sectarian or political divisions. 

Zaman al-Wasl learned that the Raqqah Athriya axis has returned to occupy its position as a corrupt vein for the continuation of the suspicious and black market exchanges between al-Assad’s mercenaries and the Islamic State controlled areas in eastern Syria which remains despite the destruction and tragedy an oil and agricultural store that makes it difficult for anyone greedy to ignore. 

At the beginning of June 2016, the regime surprised perhaps everyone by announcing the massing of his forces and mercenaries to launch what they referred to as the Raqqah battle. The regime started to broadcast images of their speedy advancement in Raqqah’s countryside until they arrived at a close distance from al-Tabaqa military airport when their speedy advance deteriorated quickly and the regime returned to their first point of control to then completely exit Raqqah province. 

The Raqqah battle, which the regime and its mercenaries from “desert hawks” and “marine commandos” engaged in, paralyzed the black trade movement and limited the ability of the thugs controlling of the area (at their helm Mousib Salameh’s group) from extorting people passing their checkpoints and confiscating whatever is in their possession from money or belongings. 

Al-Salamiyah thugs move under the eye and knowledge of the regime in particular their leader Mousib, the brother of the Major General Adib Salameh one of the strongest men in the air force intelligence. 

These thugs were the people most bothered by Raqqah battle and the most persistent in seeking its failure according to the testimony of those who follow the whispers of pro-regime supporters as those comment about the halting of the battle and regret the losses incurred in the battle, namely the deaths.

Despite the resentment among the regime supporters against the thugs in al-Salamiyah and its surroundings that reached the point of them talking about the thugs’ role in causing the Raqqah battle to fail to preserve their gains, the regime head and his intelligence have not taken a single move against those thugs. 

Although the regime knows that these thugs were the reasons for the death of mercenaries like them who were supposed to be united in defending the regime, their inaction indicates that Bashar and his high ranking intelligence men have an interest in keeping the black market trade artery functioning even at the expense of the lives of pro-regime supporters. Perhaps they take a share from the profits of this trade which does not adhere to any classifications or give any weight to the terms enemy or friend. Their approach reminds one of the regime behavior with some of the symbols of rule and power in Saddam Hussein’s time whom the regime saw as enemies, but when it came time to benefit from their millions and take control of large amounts, Bashar opened his doors to them until he finished from feeding on the large sums they smuggled into Syria. 

Finally, the mercenaries controlling al-Salamiyah and the result of the Raqqah battle are proofs to a large degree that the regime has a major consistency which is never shaken or relinquished and its making a profit even at the expense of harvesting souls from its supporters.

 Enmity and friendship are flexible and changeable terms, perhaps they change with the exchange rate! And some of the regime supporters were aware of this, and now most of them are sure of this after the latest Raqqah battle, but they do not announce that and if they announce it they become prideful. 

In the final stop of the battle, the thugs and the regime both won, so who lost then? The question is best answered by those defending the regime with their teeth, nails, the blood of their sons, and strength of their days. 

Zaman al-Wasl mentions it was the first media outlet to reveal the al-Salamiyah thugs’ crimes and violation, and it documents their violations against opposition and regime supporters (even Alawites) in a series of reporters the newspaper has previously published which can be visited by clicking on the links below. (Ttanslation by RNA Abdul)