The people of Homs are experiencing widespread anxiety, rage and discontentment after a series of explosions recently rocked pro-regime neighborhoods, while countless human rights abuses continue to be carried out by government security forces and National Defense Forces (NDF) militias throughout the city.
Regime prisons, largely administered by the security forces and pro-Assad militias, contain more than just opponents; they also contain many supporters. Anyone who opposes their ideology or goals is often considered a criminal and must be punished.
A pro-regime citizen of Homs told Al-Souria Net that the city is now full of these secret prisons.
The actions of the NDF against pro-regime citizens in Homs reflect their injustice, corruption and criminal activity.
Recently, protests erupted in the city’s pro-regime neighborhoods calling to hold the regime and security forces responsible for the abuse and neglect which runs rife throughout the community.
Facebook user "Asadi Homsi" commented on a pro-regime page, saying: "We are killed by disease and by our brother’s weapons, it is not strange if our children are detained in prisons and are prevented from being with their families, or on the fighting fronts that need them."
“M.Sh”, a man in his 30s from Wadi Alzahab, known by some to be "the largest pro-regime area in Homs", told Al-Souria Net sources that he and many other people had joined the NDF because they believed the armed opposition would “slaughter them, burn their neighborhoods and eliminate them if the regime of Bashar al-Assad was toppled."
It wasn’t long before he discovered the volunteers were sent to fight and fulfill the goals and interests of the leaders of the NDF militias.
After attempting to express his resentment to his NDF leaders, M.Sh said: "The next day, I found myself cuffed and blindfolded inside a black vehicle and surrounded by armed men accusing me of all kinds of bad things. The car arrived at one of the NDF headquarters and they put me in one of their cells."
M.Sh continued: "I stayed there for four hours, and then I was blindfolded again and taken to one of the National Defense Force officials. He accused me of betraying the country and the leaders by insulting them and trying to spread disorder among the members of these militias, and then he started hitting me, cursing at me and accusing me of treason and dealing with terrorists."
"They took me back to the cell where I stayed for a few hours, and then they came back and blindfolded me, and took me to a car and then to my house telling me that this was just a warning and I should keep my mouth shut.”
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.
