Armed groups affiliated with tribes seized military sites belonging to the former Syrian regime, which contained quantities of weapons and ammunition, before the groups moved the contents and stored them in areas belonging to them.
According to information from the residents, the transfer of weapons continued for several days and included light and medium weapons, including machine guns, rifles, bombs and RPG launchers, in addition to large quantities of ammunition, amid information about the intention to distribute some of it later among tribal groups.
The sites targeted by the operation were spread across several areas of the Hama and Homs countryside, including the eastern Hama countryside in the Salamiyah area, the northeastern countryside in the Al-Hamra area, and the southeastern Homs countryside in the Al-Mushrifah area, in addition to military depots in the Tal Baraq and Taqsis areas in the southern Hama countryside.
After the security forces of the new Syrian government imposed their control over those sites, the tribal groups demanded the handover of the weapons and ammunition that had been moved from them. However, according to the information circulating, the militants did not respond to the demands, which opens the door to a new tension over the issue of weapons spread outside the control of official security institutions.
These developments come amid efforts to consolidate the weapons depots and stores belonging to the former forces, and to control the spread of weapons in Syrian regions, amid challenges posed by the acquisition of old military stores and the transfer of their contents to local armed groups.
