Abuses against civilians by pro-Assad Shabbiha forces have prompted residents in the central city of Salamiya to organize a demonstration to condemn the immoral behavior of the groups they say are being used by the regime to punish civilians and rebels in the city.
The residents say the abuses include insults, kidnap, arrest, torture and killing of the citizens in Salamiya.
According to activists, Shabbiha forces kidnapped Qasem Adnan Hammoud and then blackmailed his family by asking them to pay 400,000 Syrian Pounds for his release, but that they tortured and hanged him, throwing his body on the road of Malha. The whole city walked in the funeral of the martyr days ago.
Commenting on the behavior of the Shabbiha from the Salama and Hamdan families, the member of the Syrian National Coalition from Slaamaiya, Okab Yahya, said "the patience of people is over; they cannot bear the ignobility of the Shabbia anymore."
"They went too far in their insolence and abuses of people's life and security. They have practiced all kinds of bullying, including kidnapping, killing, terrifying and arresting people. They have established their own kingdom, supported by the regime and its security forces and their powerful relatives. They showed their immorality to people on daily basis," he said.
"The people got furious and they all met, including regime's supporters and rebels, to hold an open sit-in until the regime put an end for this unusual phenomenon. The question remains is: Can the regime which founded this phenomenon for well-known reasons end it? Or does it require other actions suitable for those murderers and criminals?"
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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