Syrian residents, IDPs accuse government of sowing sedition
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Residents and IDPs in the city of Raqqa, northeast Syria, accused the Syrian government and its loyalists of sparking sedition through distinguishing between Syrians after years of war, discrimination, and hatred.
Those people say that war cultivates hatred among Syrians, while pro-government individuals and officials try to increase it further.
No benefits for Syrians
70-year-old Raqqa resident Muhammad al-Abdullah said that he and many Syrians of his generation did not use to distinguish between Arabs, Kurds, Alawites, Sunnis, or Christians.
“We used to live together as brothers and sisters without discrimination,” he added.
“The Syrian war was sedition from the very beginning, and there are countries that stand behind this to serve their interests, while Syrians will get no benefit from it,” al-Abdullah believes.
On January 31, a shootout took place between pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF) members and the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in the Central Market in the city of Hasakah, injuring several persons and killing a member of the government forces.
In a statement on Sunday, Asayish General Command held government officials in Hasakah responsible for the recent tensions in the area.
The two cities witnessed security tension after government forces banned trucks loaded with basic materials, including flour and fuel, to enter to the camps of Shahba and to the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Ashrafiya and Sheikh Meqsoud in Aleppo city, where Afrin IDPs reside.
On Tuesday, an agreement was reached between the AANES and the Syrian government regarding the tension between the two parties in Aleppo and Hasakah and ending the government siege on Aleppo and its northern countryside under Russian sponsorship.
Incitement calls
Ali al-Sheikhani, an IDP from Afrin residing in Raqqa, said that Syrian regime has sowed sedition among Syrians, that last of which was in Hasakah and Qamishli.
Al-Sheikhani and his family fled from Afrin to Raqqa in 2018 after Turkish forces and Turkish-backed Syrian armed opposition groups occupied his home.
He believes that the Damascus government has been complicit with Turkey in the occupation of Afrin.
He pointed out that pro-government individuals spread incitement, such as a post published by the media activist Ghalia Tabba’ on her Facebook page.
Tabba’ published that she wished to be the Minister of Defense so that she could “burn the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) members and their children with chemicals,” but she deleted her post after widespread criticism against her by activists and observers.
Al-Sheikhani believes that “all military forces in Syria should unite to fight terrorism and extremism.”
Enough wars
Hamed al-Mdad, an IDP from Deir ez-Zor residing in Raqqa, said, “We want to live in peace away from distinction, extremism, and sectarianism enough wars.”
During a decade of war and crisis that the country witnessed, several powers took control over different parts in Syria including pro-government members, opposition, or SDF where influence of regional and international powers emerged according to each region and its religious and national communities.
Al-Mdad recalls the beginnings of the war in Syria and the ten years that he has spent in displacement, far from his home and hometown, and he wishes for a quick return to his home in Deir ez-Zor.