IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The recent indiscriminate proliferation of weapons and their overt sale in Idlib governorate and its countryside, in northwestern Syria, causes life-threatening incidents for local residents.
Residents said that weapons of all kinds were sold in shops, including rifles, grenades, pistols, and bullets, in addition to full military equipment and radios.
The proliferation of weapons without control over their possession is causing an increase in the rate of crimes in Idlib, especially murder.
Muhammad Abdul-Jawad, a resident of the city of Salqin northwest of Idlib, said that a person from the city shot his daughter and her husband dead during their visit to his home in August.
The Syrian Salvation Government is the civil wing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) based in the Idlib governorate. It is not recognized by the Turkish-backed Syrian Interim Government.
Aisha al-Kamel, a resident of Idlib, said that her 16-year-old son almost lost his life as a result of the presence of weapons in the hands of the “unscrupulous and responsible,” as she said.
The woman explained the details of the incident that occurred in August. While her son was working as a seller at a small stall in the city market, a motorcycle hit him, which led to the stall overturning and damage to the goods.
“When my son demanded accountability, the owner of the motorcycle pointed a pistol in the face of my son, and he did not hesitate to shoot.”
Al-Kamil added that the bullet was fired to the side of her son’s head, and flying sparks hit his neck and caused burns.
A girl no more than a year old lost her life on May 4 after being hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her tent in a camp for IDPs in the northern countryside of Idlib.
Muhammad al-Ghazal, a resident of the city of Kafr Nabl in the southern countryside of Idlib, said that the shops selling weapons were opened without any licenses and were not subject to supervision, and that “obtaining any weapon has become easy.”
He asked, “Where is the Salvation Government [to stop] the spread of these stores? Where are its security institutions to limit the phenomenon of random proliferation of weapons?”
An arms dealer in the city of Idlib who declined to be named said that the arms trade in Idlib governorate is making good profit, which prompted a large percentage of the population to work in it “amid a great demand from the population to buy and sell.”
However, the arms dealer indicated that most of the gun shops in the governorate are owned by the military groups.
“Weapons are sold by members of these groups, and most of them sell ammunition provided to them for combat.”