The Ministry of Interior in the Damascus caretaker government has started a wide-ranging combing operation in the neighborhoods of Homs on January 2, seeking war criminals and those involved in crimes who refused to surrender their weapons and review settlement centers.
At that time, the Ministry of Interior called on residents in the Wadi al-Dahab and Akrama neighborhoods to refrain from going out into the streets, stay at home, and cooperate with its forces until the completion of the combing campaign or until they were allowed to roam.
The campaign targeted war criminals and fugitives from justice as well as hidden ammunition and weapons depots, and came after information about the presence of elements from the former regime’s forces in several locations in Homs who had not surrendered their weapons weeks after the opening of settlement centers to prevent escalation.
The next day, forces entered the neighborhoods of al-Abbasiya, al-Sabil, al-Zahra’a, al-Muhajirin as a continuation of the campaign, and conducted search, follow-up, and inspection operations for remnants of the former regime’s forces, according to what was reported by the Syrian official news agency (SANA).
During the campaign, Muhammad Nour al-Din Shalhoum was arrested in Homs; he is one of the surveillance camera officials at the Sednaya prison and participated in disabling the cameras there before the Military Operations Administration took control of the area.
Also, Saher al-Naddaf, one of the field leaders accused of committing crimes against Syrians and participating in massacres against the Syrian people, was arrested.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Interior forces and Military Operations Administration seized an ammunition depot in the al-Zahra’a neighborhood.
“Individual violations”
Maan Saleh, a member of the civil peace group in the neighborhoods affected by the campaign, clarified to Enab Baladi that the campaign was marked by frequent gunfire into the air, causing panic among women and children, in addition to the detention of a number of people, all of whom were men, including civilians, with documented violations related to the unofficial seizure of vehicles.
Prior to the security campaign, there had been cases of kidnapping, killing, and discoveries of corpses in the orchards of al-Waer or on the banks of irrigation canals in Homs.
Saleh mentioned that the campaign ended Sunday in the neighborhoods of al-Walid suburb, Wadi al-Dahab, Karm al-loz, al-Woroud, al-Zahra’a, al-Arman, al-Sabil, al-Muhajirin, and al-Abbasiya. Additionally, combing was conducted in al-Rastan, Talbiseh, and Deir Ba’albeh.
He pointed out that most of the elements of the Military Operations Administration were disciplined, except for some cases he described as “individual,” which included the breaking of musical instruments and hookahs, bottles of alcoholic beverages, and damaging the contents of some homes. Some detainees were forced to bark and bray (imitating the sounds of dogs and donkeys) and were made to hear insults and sectarian phrases.
The new Syrian administration continues to assert citizens’ rights for all Syrians, while most diplomatic delegations visiting Damascus focus on the issue of protecting minorities in Syria. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, following her meeting with the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on January 3, stated that all Syrian factions, including women and Kurds, must be involved in the political transition process in Syria if Damascus seeks European support.
The German minister emphasized the need to involve all ethnic groups in the transition to democracy while ensuring that any potential European funds do not end up in what she described as “new Islamic structures.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan previously stated, “Whether there is a majority or a minority in Syria, regardless of who they are, whether Alawites, Yazidis, Christians, or whoever, Turkey is the guardian and protector of them, just like it is for others,” according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.