Numerous breaches of lockdown in Hasakah with weak regulation in second phase

Hasakah – North-Press Agency

Jindar Abdel Qader

On Wednesday, the second day of the extended phase of the lockdown announced by the Autonomous Administration last Monday, numerous breaches occurred compared to the previous 16 days of the lockdown period that began on 23rd of March.

According to residents from Hasakah, the city witnessed a great movement of residents between neighborhoods and the opening of shops, without the presence of strict security controls by the security forces in the city.

Mustafa Amer, the owner of a food shop in al-Salhiya neighborhood, said that he opens his shop every day because he is excluded from the ban during the morning hours, but he saw that there was a great movement of residents on Wednesday and a decrease in the number of internal security forces patrols (Asayish) as compared to the early days of the lockdown.

He added that many of the shops included under the ban decision opened today for several hours and there were gatherings of people, noting that this is a concern for some residents in light of fears of coronavirus infections.

Other residents reported that the city witnessed vehicle traffic and dozens of residents opened their shops selling candy, carpentry supplies, tobacco, and other stores that must be closed during the lockdown.

On Monday, the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria announced that the lockdown had been extended from April 7th to April 21st as part of the measures taken to prevent the risks of the spread of coronavirus.