Rebuilding Security in New Syria: Week 22

Tracking the spread of new security forces and security incidents in post-Assad Syria from May 5 to May 11

Announcements of security deployments mostly in western Syria, with an emphasis on the minority regions. Content is categorized as deployment, crime, statement, arrest, operation. 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 provided throughout.

• Aleppo

• Damascus

• Coast

• Homs

• Hama

Violence decreased this week, especially by the second half of the week. Sectarian crimes have dropped following a string of attacks against Alawite civilians in western Hama and Latakia late last week and early this week. Meanwhile several reported kidnapping cases in Homs were proven to be mis-reported by the women’s families. Such cases are not uncommon. For example, when I visited Qadmus in late April, security officials there showed me a case where a local woman called for help from her abusive husband. After GSS helped her leave her home for a friend’s house, her husband’s family began a social media campaign claiming she had been kidnapped. These false kidnappings obscure the very real kidnappings that are occurring, and make it more difficult for people to know who is actually posing a danger to them (government forces or criminal gangs). Jableh’s countryside, and to a lesser extent Baniyas, remain by far the most unsettled and dangerous areas for Alawites.

Additionally, the negotiated settlements ending the violence in Sahnaya and Jaramana have continued to progress, with most detained men released and significant weapons handed over, allowing for the introduction of new local security forces to the neighborhoods. However, vigilante attacks continue unabated, particularly in Aleppo and Hama. Lastly, security forces continue their string of high level arrests against senior regime officers, hopefully setting the stage for the first transitional justice trials close on the horizon.