(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Criminal Security Branch subordinate to the Ministry of Interior in Latakia announced that a criminal gang, whose members belong to the National Defense militia, were arrested in a break with the Branch’s previous approach to National Defense members’ crimes.
The announcement came days after Bashar al-Assad issued directives to the security forces to remove all manifestations of thuggish behavior, and the need to rein in the members of the militia who transformed the population’s lives into a living hell. The directives came to remedy the situation where many Syrians complain that they feel insecure in areas under the control of al-Assad’s militias.
The directives did not mention who is responsible for intimidating citizens, depriving them of their security and robbing them of their freedom, but activists interpreted the new directive as an attempt by al-Assad to prove that he exists and has the power keep the militias in check.
The directives initiated a series of investigations regarding the security forces’ corruption and criminality. The directives are also an incentive for the different security branches to fight among each other in a bid for more power. The criminal security and police forces gained some of their lost power.
National Defence: The Scapegoat
The Criminal Security Branch in Latakia took the directive as an opportunity to impose its existence, after the Minister of the Interior gave them absolute powers to harass the security forces, limit their powers and uncover crimes they have committed against civilians such as murder, kidnapping and extortion.
The Security Branch chose the National Defense as its first victim since the militia is the weakest party. The National Defense has military force but lacks the necessary political support to secure its position in this shifting scene.
The National Defense militia became the scapegoat, and a means to test the waters to understand to what extent it is possible to overtake the remaining active militias in the coastal areas of Syria.
Rumors were circulated in Syria’s coastal areas about the possibility the National Defense militia will be dissolved and its members, who are infamous for their criminal activities and abuses, will be demobilized. The National Defense members are perhaps more disposable than others since most of them are elderly and they are mercenaries who demobilization would have a direct and visible impact on the lives of people in Syria’s coastal region.
Mohammed al-Sahel, an activist working in the coastal region, managed to talk to an influential figure in Latakia’s Criminal Security Branch. The source confirmed that the branch received orders to prosecute members of the National Defense, restrict their actions, and reveal all the crimes they have committed in the previous period. The source added that the move comes as their privileges have ended and they are now inactive in the fighting in Syria.
The source explained that the security branch arrested several militia members, who were under surveillance for some time. The criminal security branch was aware of their crimes, but they did not dare arrest them without political backing for such a move.
Speaking to Zaman al-Wasl, a special source in Latakia 's Courthouse revealed that four members of the National Defense are facing court cases on charges of “violent confiscation of possessions, stealing cars, threatening with murder and kidnapping to extort money, drug trafficking and criminal forgery.”
The source pointed out that the Criminal Security Branch was aware of the crimes committed for more than two months, but it made no attempts to prosecute them. The source added that the Branch members were unable to raid the house the four men had taken as the base due to their membership in the National Defense militia.
The source explained that when the four men were arrested, these objects were found in their possession, “Four Russian-made rifles which belong to the National Defense, two irregular rifles of known source, various kinds of drugs, a large sum of US Dollars and some counterfeit identity cards.”
In related news, the Latakia Criminal Security Branch arrested A.A. a thug from Qardaha, the al-Assad family stronghold, who killed an M.J. in cold blood in a restaurant in Latakia three years ago. The men were supposedly unrelated, and there was no disagreement between them. Since the incident, A.A. went around Latakia without fear of reprisal or arrest due to his strong relations with all the security branches in Latakia. As such, his arrest is a glaring indicator of a shift in the relations of power on the ground in Syria’s coastal region.
Speaking to Zaman al-Wasl, the retired Brigadier Ali M. commented that Bashar al-Assad’s role has come to its end. These instructions will lead to him losing any real strength which he derived from the security branches’ crimes and brutality. By targeting those the regime depends on to keep the population in check, neither the Ministry of the Interior nor Iran or Russia will be able to keep al-Assad in power.
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