There is no place for Shabeeha corpses in Tartus graveyards, even if they were killed defending the Assad regime, as their number has increased sharply in recent days as a result of violent fights between the FSA and pro-Assad militias.
Some fanatics in the coastal city of Tartus, 350 km north west of Damascus, have refused to bury the killed militants, who are not originally from the city, despite their birth certificates and the fact that they grew up in the city. Most of the victims belong to the National Defense Army, a source said to Zaman al-Wasl.
''Shabeeha corpses are no longer welcome in Tartus province, as the city council and some community groups rejected burying them in the city graveyards, claiming they are not originally from the city although they were born and lived in the city,'' the source reported.
Activists told a story about a militant who was killed in Aleppo but the officials in Tartus refused to bury him because he was originally from Homs. Moreover, some gunmen prevented his parents from entering the graveyard.
The National Defense Army
The National Defense Army was formed a year ago under the orders of Bashar al-Assad. It is a military force parallel to the regular army in Syria and composed of civilians who voluntarily joined the army. They are trained to be able to fight guerrilla warfare on the ground against opposition fighters.
The army consists of Community Committees that have evolved with the progression of recent violence in Syria to protect neighborhoods.
Both men and women can join this army; it is expected to have 10,000 fighters and all of them will have monthly salaries with particular uniforms.
According to VDC, there are 66,952 documented deaths in Syria till now, consisting of 50,951 civilians (76%) and 16,001 (24%) non-civilians; these figures include people who were killed during fighting either by the regime forces or by the opposition. 301 (0.4 %) of the deaths are from Tartus.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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