Idlib: thug groups impose royalties on people

Local sources in Idlib province assured that some armed groups, which claimed operating under Free Syrian Army, had imposed royalties on people, who cross their checkpoints which surround their rural villages of Salkeen and Harem.

The bad security conditions pushed many merchants and truck drivers to halt delivering food and other staples over fear of banditry and extortion by the thugs, source said.

Activists and Zaman Alwasl called for the Islamic Front and other rebel groups in Idlib to put an end for such actions which compromise the revolution.

Syria's armed uprising began as a series of peaceful democracy protests 34 months ago but escalated into a full-blown civil war after Assad's regime launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.

The conflict is estimated to have killed around 126,000 people and displaced millions more.