Rebuilding Security in New Syria: Year 2, Week 18
Tracking the spread of new security forces and security incidents in post-Assad Syria from April 6 to April 12
Announcements of security deployments mostly in western Syria, with an emphasis on the minority regions. This weekly update is intended to provide base level data for more holistic research into the rebuilding of the security and governance structures of post-Assad Syria. Direct links to primary sources are provided throughout.
This week saw a slight increase in violence, with five murders in Homs city in particular. Among the dead was a family of three Alawis who were targeted by gunmen reportedly after the wife had shared old photos on Facebook showing that her husband had served in the regime’s forces. At least two kidnapping executions also took place this week, one each in Homs and Damascus.
Meanwhile, security forces arrested three regime-era criminals, continuing a recent trend this year. Major counter-narcotics operations were also conducted in border regions including two joint busts alongside the Iraqi and Jordanian governments. Lastly, late in the week government forces prevented a Hezbollah operation attempting to kill a senior Syrian Rabbi in Damascus, detaining the five-person cell.