The use of firearms and the resulting deaths and injuries in three family disputes in Aleppo, Syria, in recent days, have prompted appeals from residents for the state authorities to take deterrent measures to curb the uncontrolled possession of weapons that are widespread in most of the city’s neighborhoods.
Azzam Khanji, a member of the People’s Assembly representing Aleppo, revealed in a statement that issuing a law from the Assembly that regulates the carrying of weapons and imposes deterrent penalties on violators will be among the Assembly’s priorities after it begins its work in the coming days. His colleague, Aqil Hussein, confirmed this, calling for the issuance of firm instructions from the competent authorities regarding the carrying of weapons, until the law is issued, in order to control the weapons that are widespread, even among security and military personnel.
Over the past three days, Aleppo has witnessed clashes between families that escalated to the use of light and medium firearms, resulting in a number of civilian casualties.
On Sunday evening, the Bani Zaid neighborhood, located north of the city, witnessed a fight between two families. A social media page stated that the cause was a dispute over the sale of a car, which escalated into a clash with automatic firearms, resulting in the death of one person and the injury of four others.
The Syrian “Al-Ikhbariya” channel reported that the Internal Security Forces reinforced their deployment in the neighborhood after controlling the brawl, amid measures to control the situation and prevent renewed clashes, and imposed a cordon on the site that lasted until Monday morning.
On Friday, the “Karm al-Maysar” neighborhood, one of the eastern districts of Aleppo, witnessed an armed clash between two families, following a dispute over a shop, according to residents of the area, before it escalated into an exchange of fire using light and medium weapons.
The media office of the Internal Security Forces in Aleppo said that the incident resulted in the injury of three people, and fires broke out in two cars and a warehouse for plastic boxes, stressing that legal procedures against those involved are continuing.
With the increasing use of firearms, even medium-caliber ones, in family feuds within the city of Aleppo, appeals have emerged among residents for serious action to put an end to these violations that threaten the lives of civilians within the densely populated neighborhoods of a city whose population is estimated at more than 2.5 million people.
Khanji stressed the necessity of controlling loose weapons so that they are exclusively in the hands of the state and the Ministries of Interior and Defense, instead of their widespread dissemination among civilians. He attributed the reason behind this dissemination to the circumstances that the country went through during the past fifteen years, which led to the spread of weapons, whether in the areas that were under the control of the fallen regime and in the hands of its many militias, or the areas controlled by the “Syrian Democratic Forces - SDF”, or in the liberated areas in the hands of the various rebel factions.
He continued: “After liberation, the state opened a settlement for elements of the former regime and its militias to hand over weapons, and large quantities were collected, but the continuation of the war throughout the previous years made it difficult to contain and collect all the loose weapons.”
He said that what is required today is for the state to do its duty to collect weapons in all Syrian regions, and that the exchange of gunfire that took place in the neighborhoods of Bani Zaid and Karam al-Maysar in the city and in the city of Azaz in the north of the governorate, due to family disputes, is completely unacceptable. He stressed that many popular activities and civil associations in Aleppo had previously asked the governorate and the public security to act urgently and collect weapons, and we all hope to witness campaigns to control weapons, explaining that the matter will not be easy in a sprawling governorate like Aleppo.
Weapons and Captagon
Khanji explained that the spread of weapons during the previous regime was linked to the manufacture and trafficking of drugs, after the regime at that time relied on exporting Captagon pills as a source of money, noting that the state is currently moving towards controlling this loose weapon, but the process will take more time.
Khanji explained that the spread of weapons during the previous regime was linked to the manufacture and trafficking of drugs.
He said that “Bani Zaid” is one of the neighborhoods of slums and violationand was under the control of the “SDF”, and many thieves and outlaws took advantage of this abnormal situation after liberation, so that the neighborhood and other neighborhoods close to it, such as “Sheikh Maqsoud” and “Ashrafiya”, became a place to which they resorted to escape from the competent authorities, explaining that unlicensed weapons are still widespread in most neighborhoods, and remain hidden in homes and only appear when there are problems.
Control mechanisms
Khanji explained that in a country like Syria, which went through what it went through until the victory of the revolution, what is recorded for the new administration is that it succeeded in integrating the rebel factions into the Ministries of Interior and Defense to become elements in the Syrian army or in the security forces, which prevented any factional fighting. However, on the other hand, the integration of the faction elements into the army came directly and without subjecting them to training courses, which left some negative effects, including the continued spread of weapons.
He added: “The plan was first to integrate the rebel factions into the army, and then to work gradually to dissolve the factional spirit among them, although this requires some time to complete the integration process through courses that impose behavioral discipline. He explained that the Ministry of Interior is working on the ground and taking serious steps within the framework of completing the training of its members and controlling them, while holding accountable anyone who abuses or commits violations by exploiting his affiliation with the army or public security.”
New law
Al-Khanji considered that issuing a law from the People’s Assembly related to regulating the carrying of weapons in Syria and imposing deterrent penalties on unlicensed possession would be among the urgent laws that should be among the Assembly’s priorities, as it affects the lives, security and stability of civilians.He said: “In the near future, we will hear demands for the enactment of a law to hold those carrying illegal weapons accountable.”
Aqil Hussein, a member of the People’s Assembly representing Aleppo, agreed with his colleague Al-Khanji, telling that after the liberation, no work was done to collect weapons completely from civilians, but rather to restrict them, and to obligate military personnel and security elements not to display their weapons in the streets and public places, and not to carry them except within their military units or during their shifts.
Hussein stated that the problem began to worsen with the use of weapons in small family disputes within residential neighborhoods, which must be controlled, until a law is issued by the People’s Assembly regulating the carrying of weapons, by imposing stricter measures to eliminate the phenomenon of weapon use.
Hussein stated that the problem began to escalate with the use of weapons in small family disputes within residential neighborhoods, which must be controlled.
He said that high fines can now be imposed on members of the Ministries of Interior and Defense who display their weapons outside of their working hours, in public places, or use them in fights, and that these weapons can be confiscated from those who do not comply with the instructions, with the matter being referred to the judiciary.
He stressed that all the expected controls cannot achieve the desired results unless all Syrian citizens, whether military or civilian, cooperate with the Internal Security Command and its directorates spread throughout the neighborhoods, cities and towns.
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