By Ihsan Muhammad
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, has witnessed seven cases of abduction since the beginning of 2024. The kidnappers demanded ransom in exchange for the release of the victims.
These incidents occurred amidst a security chaos in the region, with ongoing killings and bombings since the government forces took control in the summer of 2018. There are accusations against the Syrian government checkpoints of turning a blind eye to the criminal gangs and kidnapping incidents, which have been significant compared to the duration they have occurred in.
Local groups supported by the government’s Eighth Brigade succeeded in liberating the kidnapped individuals, Muhammad Khair al-Mahamid and Muhammad al-Hariri, on March 27 and handing them over to their families.
Sources close to the Eighth Brigade told North Press that the release of the kidnapped individuals came after the arrest of several suspects. The kidnapped individual, Muhammad Khair Hussein was held by one of the kidnapping gangs in the city of Shahba, in the western countryside of Suwayda, southern Syria. He was abducted at the end of February on Damascus-Daraa Highway, near the village of Om Elmiathin, east of Daraa.
On March 19, al-Hariri, 20, from the city of Namer in the northern countryside of Daraa, was kidnapped by an unknown gang from a poultry farm where he worked in the eastern outskirts of Namer.
The gang contacted al-Hariri’s family and demanded a ransom of one hundred thousand U.S. dollars for his release.
On Feb. 23, Abdullah al-Za’abi was kidnapped by a gang from a farm he works in on the outskirts of the town of Deir al-Bukht, north of Daraa. The gang contacted al-Za’abi’s family and sent them a video of his torture, demanding a ransom of one hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars.
In other incidents, especially those occurring in southern areas, prominent figures from Daraa accused Iranian and government-affiliated parties of being behind the kidnapping operations to create divisions among the tribes and the people of Daraa.
The government forces are accused of facilitating the passage of kidnapping gangs through their checkpoints spread across the entrances and exits of towns and villages in the area. They are also accused of negligence in pursuing the kidnapping gangs, which have become well-known to everyone.
A former leader in the Syrian opposition attributed the frequent abduction incidents to the security breakdown experienced in the region.
The leader told North Press that the government benefits from the state of security breakdown in the governorate to ensure that no protests against it occur and to get rid of its opponents.
He added that the majority of the kidnapping groups’ members are soldiers of the government forces which facilitates their movement through military checkpoints.