A report detailing the loss of weapons, by the Commander of National Defense Forces in Latakia reveals widespread laxity, negligence and possibly corruption in the process of arming the Shabbiha paramilitaries in Latakia province.
The report shows that nine RPGs , the mortars, and eleven BKC” machine guns were lost in a series of random receipt and delivery operations.
Hilal Assad, the cousin of Bashar Assad’s was the Commander of the National Defense Forces in Latakia before he was killed on 22 March 2014, in the battle for a border crossing with Turkey in the north of Latakia by rebels.
The document shows the vulgar language used by Assad when he addressed one of the most important representatives of the regime in the governorate, a brigade commander of the coastal region, who serves as the military governor for the entire provinces of Tartous and Latakia.
In a document dating 9 October, 2013, the Shabbiha commander talked about the circumstances of the detention of two policemen and the lieutenant Imad Eddin Yousef, who stopped a Shabiha patrol during their regular mission.
Assad claimed Yousef stopped the patrol and seized several cars smuggling petrol. But Yousef refused to accept the story, saying: "This a lie, and you, the National Defense Forces are always behind the petrol theft and will be detained for that."
The commander explained how a verbal argument occurred, escalating to a scuffle and a fist fight.
Notable in the report was the menacing tone used in the end of the document by Assad against the brigade commander, demanding he order that no Shabbiha patrol be stopped “due to the damage it might cause to the public interest, also vowing that "in the case of a repeat of the disruption to our missions,we will act differently."
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
At the end, a brief investigation report shed the light on the surroundings of Shabiha’s community revealing thefts, infringements, even among each other, such in the case of the shabih and thug “Samir Mahmoud Ramadan”, who had reported a theft of his military vest, 3 cartridges and 90 bullets.
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