The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented that at least 214 Syrians were subjected to arbitrary arrest during the past August, in addition to the Syrian regime forces detaining 19 people forcibly returned from Lebanon.
According to the SNHR report issued today, Monday, September 2, at least 214 Syrians were subjected to arbitrary arrest, including 13 children and seven women, of whom 173 turned into enforced disappearances.
According to the SNHR report, 113 people were arrested by the Syrian regime forces, including three children and one woman, while opposition factions and the Syrian National Army (SNA) arrested 46 people, including five children and six women. Additionally, 37 people were arrested by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including four children and one woman, and 18 people were arrested by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Idlib.
Regarding the distribution of arrests by governorates, Aleppo got the largest share, followed by the Damascus countryside, then Deir Ezzor, then Damascus, followed by Homs, then Hama, Idlib, and Daraa.
The report conducted a comparison between the cases of detention and the cases of release during the past August among the parties of the conflict, showing that the detention cases exceeded the release cases by not less than once or twice, especially by the Syrian regime.
The SNHR had documented on August 2 at least 209 cases of arbitrary arrest, including 14 children and three women, during the past July, of which 157 turned into enforced disappearances, with 106 of them detained by the Syrian regime.
The SNHR report also pointed out that the regime forces conducted widespread arrest and detention operations targeting the Damascus countryside, Damascus, Hama, and Aleppo, under the pretext of evading mandatory and reserve military service. Most of these operations happened within the frameworks of raids and mass arrests at checkpoints, including individuals who had “settled” their security status in areas that had previously signed “settlement” agreements with the regime.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights also monitored arrest and detention operations against refugees forcibly returned from Lebanon, from the Syrian-Lebanese border area at the Masnaa border crossing, following raids and arrests carried out by the Lebanese army, targeting Syrian refugees in Lebanon, who were deported to the Syrian-Lebanese border, with most of them taken to security and military detention centers in Homs and Damascus.
Many Syrians use Lebanon as a transit country through the maritime route for immigration to Europe, as indicated by repeated Lebanese army announcements about thwarting attempts at travel or migration by sea in an illegal way.
The Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper revealed on August 12 that during the recent visit of Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun to Washington, there were American demands to refrain from tightening the grip on refugees. Aoun’s meetings with the Americans addressed the issue of forced deportations of Syrians carried out by the Lebanese army.