Gambling houses have appeared in the city of Harasta in eastern Ghouta recently, all of which were opened under the supervision of a National Defense Militia commander in central Damascus.
The Sowt Al-Asima correspondent said that the commander of the National Defense militia and the former responsible for the security file for the city of Harasta, Colonel Nabil Suleiman, had established gambling spots in houses that were under the militia’s control in various neighborhoods of the city.
The correspondent added that the most prominent gambling house is the one that was established in the Al-Baidar neighborhood, in a house owned by a close associate of Colonel Suleiman’s, noting that Suleiman frequents the house, accompanied by a number of regime army officers from the Dahiyat al-Assad area, in the company of Reconciliation Committee members, Abou Abdo Muhanna and Abou Ahmad Al-Jojo.
Another house was established near the checkpoint of the Fourth Division, which is located at the main entrance to Harasta, in a complex that the National Defense militia had taken ownership of after the area fell under the regime’s control.
According to the correspondent, Colonel Suleiman, who hails from the Syrian coast, used to live in Harasta before the outbreak of the Syrian revolution. He left the city for Damascus in late 2011, only to return to it as a fighter after the formation of the National Defense militia. Suleiman handled the administration of the Harasta file between 2012 and 2019, and he was one of those who contributed to concluding the armistice agreement in the Barzeh neighborhood of Damascus in 2014.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
