Chaos and the breakdown of security have spread in areas under Assad regime control, where no voice is louder than the authority of the gun and the influence of those who belong to the security agencies and loyalist militias.
The pro-regime Al-Khabar television channel shined light on one of these cases, in which a member of the National Defense Forces militia lobbed a number of hand grenades and opened heavy fire with his rifle after drinking in Hama governorate.
The channel said that “on Thursday night a state of terror and panic occurred among residents of the city of Masyaf when Shuaib Ibrahim threw four hand grenades in city districts and fired heavily with his Russian rifle.”
Al-Khabar television said that Ibrahim is a “contractor with a security agency, and he threw hand grenades and fired bullets after he returned very drunk from one of the restaurants near Masyaf.”
A local from Masyaf said that the event had caused a “a state of panic” among residents, adding that Ibrahim had “a bad reputation and caused problems, and that he had not participated in any military action, but just wore military clothes, a long beard, and carried weapons as it is fashionable.”
The channel added that “security patrols encouraged him to go home and encountered clashes with the suspect, but without being able to arrest him,” adding that the man still remains at large.
Alongside this, the security breakdown in regime-held areas is increasing, with crimes of theft, killing and kidnapping in total absence of state authority.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
