Police patrols in Deir Ezzor province began removing some stalls from the streets and roundabouts after receiving complaints about obstruction of traffic and sale of unsound products, starting Monday, February 17.
Enab Baladi‘s correspondent in Deir Ezzor reported that police asked the stall owners to remove them from the neighborhoods of al-Joura, al-Jbeila, and the Mowazafeen roundabout, as well as Hammoud al-Abd and al-Dalla.
Ahmed Hajan al-Hamd, a police officer in the Deir Ezzor municipality, stated that officers found spoiled food at some stalls and confiscated it, asking the owners to remove them. They had previously warned them ten days earlier about the removal due to congestion and obstruction of traffic.
He added that stalls hinder the movement of residents and noted that one stall caused an accident on a street in the city due to its location obstructing traffic. He highlighted that numerous complaints had been received from residents.
The correspondent mentioned that stalls are particularly common, especially for fuels and used clothing, but residues of fuel remain stuck in the area.
The stalls have created an opportunity for residents to purchase their needs at lower prices, and their spread has impacted the activity of commercial shops selling Syrian and Turkish imported goods, leading to a decline in sales by more than 60%, according to shop owners interviewed by Enab Baladi.
In a previous discussion with Enab Baladi, Abdul Aziz Abdul Aziz, the head of the Technical Services Directorate in Deir Ezzor province under the interim Damascus government, stated that the directorate and the municipal council, in cooperation with police agencies, are working to remove all violations and secure an area for the stalls, which is under preparation and completion.
He mentioned that the directorate is working to set up several markets to relocate all violators to them and that police and municipal patrols carry out regular tours to remove these violations and open roads for residents, preventing traffic congestion on the main roads of the city, where violations are concentrated in al-Wadi street in al-Joura neighborhood.
On December 11, 2024, the Military Operations Administration, responsible for managing the military operations of the Syrian opposition, announced control over the city of Deir Ezzor and its military airport at the expense of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
SDF entered the city after the withdrawal of the previous Syrian regime forces and Iranian militias, but their control lasted only two days.
The minefields left by those forces, along with the level of destruction, poverty, and need across all sectors, continue to pose obstacles to the return of displaced persons to their homes.