Rebuilding Security in New Syria: Week 5

Tracking the spread of new security forces and security incidents in post-Assad Syria, January 6 - 12

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. Any events missed in previous weeks will be added to subsequent publications.

• Aleppo

• Damascus

• Coast

• Homs

• Hama

General Security units continue to expand their operations into the countrysides of all governorates during the past week. The combing campaign in Homs ended on January 5 after hundreds of men were detained. Several days later, between 200 and 300 were released after investigators found them innocent of any crimes. It is unclear for what reason they were detained in the first place. Two serious crimes occurred during the week, both on January 8. In Homs countryside four local men were murdered while working some farmland outside of Tasnin village. The village was the site of a sectarian massacre on January 6, 2013 and the killing may have been linked to that. In the Jableh countryside, three local men were killed while working their farm outside an old regime base, now occupied by HTS forces. The murderers likely belonged to HTS, with locals claiming it was foreign fighters and demanding justice in a day or protests.

Despite continued security issues, some areas are showing clear improvement. Locals continue to report positive developments in the Salamiyah district of Hama as well as much of the Tartous and Latakia countrysides. Homs city and countryside remains the clear outlier in security and rate of violations.