Iraq News
Crime & Justice

Pro-regime militias loot homes in Deir Ezzor

By Waleed Abu al-Khair in Cairo

A truck loaded with items collected from the rubble is seen in a severely damaged street in the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor on January 4th, 2014. More recently, city residents have accused pro-regime militias of looting private homes in the city. [Ahmad Aboudahmad/AFP]

A truck loaded with items collected from the rubble is seen in a severely damaged street in the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor on January 4th, 2014. More recently, city residents have accused pro-regime militias of looting private homes in the city. [Ahmad Aboudahmad/AFP]

Markets for the sale of stolen goods have sprung up in the regime-controlled section of Syria's Deir Ezzor city, residents tell Diyaruna, identifying al-Wadi Street as the primary hub for these transactions.

Further, they said, militias fighting alongside the regime have been openly looting the homes of those who fled to escape the ongoing war and publicly displaying the stolen contents for sale.

Not one unoccupied house remains untouched by robbers, they added.

Jamil al-Abed, an activist with Deir Ezzor Under Fire media campaign told Diyaruna he has been in contact with residents of the section of Deir Ezzor controlled by the regime.

Members of the pro-regime National Defence Forces militia, pictured in the photo, engage in systematic theft and looting in the city of Aleppo in broad daylight. [Photo courtesy of Mohammed al-Abdullah]

Members of the pro-regime National Defence Forces militia, pictured in the photo, engage in systematic theft and looting in the city of Aleppo in broad daylight. [Photo courtesy of Mohammed al-Abdullah]

"I was able to confirm that dozens of homes in the regime-controlled section have been robbed, and many of them to the bare walls," said al-Abed, whose work is temporarily suspended due to pressure from the regime and the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), which are both active in the area.

Homes have been emptied of all their contents by fighters from pro-regime militias such as the National Defence Forces (NDF) and civilians affiliated with influential figures in the region, he said.

Al-Abed said the homeowners had left their residences because of the siege imposed on the city by ISIS and fled to Turkey or other parts of Syria.

"These robberies are being carried out with the knowledge of the Syrian army’s leadership and, in fact, under the protection of army soldiers themselves, who provide cover for these acts in exchange for a commission," he said.

It is widely known why regime forces ignore these robberies, he said, explaining that the militiamen receive meagre salaries, if they are paid at all.

"These stolen goods, and the money they make from selling them, ensure their silence for a long while, and also ensure they continue to carry arms alongside the regime," al-Abed said.

A market for stolen goods

Government employee Haitham al-Haddad, 40, of the Endowments Department in Damascus, told Diyaruna his family home is in the regime-controlled section of Deir Ezzor.

He thought it would be safe because there is a military post nearby, he said.

"But unfortunately, according to relatives who remain in the city, the house was robbed in broad daylight," he said.

Most stolen goods can be found at one location, al-Wadi street in al-Joura district, he said, "which was turned from a food, fruit and vegetable market into a market for stolen goods looted from the homes of the city’s residents".

Buyers know the source of these stolen goods, he said, but they purchase them anyway, because they are offered at very low prices.

"Thieves are selling the stolen goods themselves, and they are heavily armed to protect the sale process and ensure no citizen objects to their actions," he said.

Many clashes have erupted when residents attempted to recover items stolen from the homes of people they know, al-Haddad explained.

This issue has been causing great anger among city residents and has the potential to escalate into a major problem for the regime, he added.

Daylight robbery is rampant

"The practices carried out by the regime’s army and its militias have become a model followed in all areas, as theft is rampant in all hot zones," said Syrian journalist Mohammed al-Abdullah, who currently lives in Cairo.

"However, in Deir Ezzor, robberies are carried out openly, in broad daylight," he told Diyaruna, explaining that entire areas are stripped of their salable contents.

This practice is now referred to as "taafeesh" (wide-scale robbery), he said.

"There are permanent markets in many areas known for being hubs for the sale of stolen goods," al-Abdullah said. "Apparently this has become standard practice, to cover the expenses of these militias and generate additional income for army soldiers who are paid next to nothing."

Similar patterns of theft were observed in the city of Aleppo, where some groups carried out systematic theft and looted numerous factories and houses, and even some government headquarters and buildings, he said.

"Taafeesh activities usually begin after battles die down and fighters withdraw," he said, when a curfew is imposed in the area targeted for theft.

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