ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – In the sight of Misbah al-Sa’eed, a resident of the Marjah neighborhood in Aleppo city, northern Syria, others live in his house that embraces his childhood memories, after the militants of Iranian-backed al-Baqir Brigade refused to hand over his house to him, like other original residents of the neighborhood.
Now, al-Sa’eed is defenseless, unable to return, “The militants of al-Baqir Brigade took my house while I wasn’t here, to host those who left the villages of Idlib.”
On July 2018, nearly 7,000 people were evacuated from the Shiite towns of al-Fu’ah and Kafraya in Idlib countryside, which were sieged by the Syrian opposition at the time.
Earlier, al-Baqir militants provided houses in al-Marjeh neighborhood with water and electricity, and equipped them with household furniture, under the supervision of Aleppo Defenders Corps, to accommodate Idlib’s displaced people there.
After al-Sa’eed and his family returned to the neighborhood, he said “Today, in the neighborhood in which I was born, I had to pay 35,000 SYP as rent fees, while others live in my own house.”
In late 2016, al-Sa’eed with his family left the neighborhood to the village of al-Malikiya in the eastern countryside, due to the government bombing of his neighborhood.
The man lives alone with his wife and daughter, after the emigration of his three young men.
With the words, “You should review Haj Khaled al-Hussein, the current commander of al-Baqir Brigade,” the new residents of the house refused to talk with al-Sa’eed or evacuate.
In 2014, al-Baqir Brigade was formed with Iranian support in the countryside of Aleppo. Its founder, Khaled al-Marei, belongs to the al-Bakara clan, who sought to avenge his father, who was killed by the Turkish-backed Syrian Free Army, after it entered Aleppo in 2012.
Suppressed attempts
After many attempts, as he filed a complaint to the Civil Court, and followed up the matter with al-Salihin Police Department, in the end the court issued a notice to vacate his house, as he said.
“Soon al-Baqir Brigade’s militants intervened, and they canceled my complaint, and threatened of killing or arresting me on the accusation that I was one of the supporters of the opposition’s militants,” he said.
Al-Sa’eed feels like he lives in his homeland without dignity, saying “I am servile at my own land.”
On October 14, 2018, the indigenous residents of the neighborhood tried to expel those who settled in their homes, but the intervention of the Brigade by force of arms silenced them.
Nidal al-Aswad, a pseudonym for a resident of al-Marjeh neighborhood, likens their neighborhood to the black market after it was fully controlled by the Brigade members.
At the end of 2016, the militants of al-Baqir Brigade, which includes members of the Shiite tribes, entered the neighborhood and set up a guesthouse resembling a mini-fortress, protected by the brigade’s members.
The militants of the brigade are engaged in smuggling drugs and other contraband, according to information obtained by North Press from local residents.
Al-Aswad returned with his wife to the neighborhood in 2018, after the emigration of his two sons, describing his return as useless, since he lost his home in the bombing of government forces, as well as his shop, his only source of livelihood, was destroyed.
The man was left with nothing but a piece of land in the eastern countryside that he cultivates and benefits from, according to him.
Houses seized by unknown guests
Al-Aswad’s family owned three houses, belonged to their father, in the neighborhood, two of which were seized by al-Baqir gunmen.
As for the third house, al-Aswad indicates that his brother lives in it, as he did not leave it when the opposition entered, and that’s why the brigade did not seize it.
Like others, the man filed a complaint with the district mayor, who refused to help him, due to the lack of personal documents, he replied, “You have no documents proving ownership of the property, and you want your house.”
The Iranian forces relied on the al-Baqir Brigade to spread the Shiism and recruit children, while what strengthens the authority of the brigade is its wide spread in Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor, and the fact that the brother of the leader of the al-Baqir Brigade Omar al-Hussein is a member of the People’s Assembly, according to what was reported by local media agencies.
A resident of Kafraya, preferred not to be named, told North Press that they are waiting to be transferred to the buildings that Iran is preparing in the Jeb al-Jabli neighborhood after receiving them from the Syrian endowments, under long-term lease contracts.
Rabe’a al-Helo lost his house in al-Madras Street, which consisted of two rooms that he built with hard work, and was forced to leave it due to the bombing of planes and artillery in 2016, to return in 2017, and find the house looted, so he returned to his family in the eastern countryside, to work and collect money in order to re-equip it.
Al-Helo begged the commander of al-Baqir Brigade to give him back his house, which was seized by others, but the commander replied as saying, “Find yourself other house and live in it, we will help you. As for your house, we cannot take out our guests, and that is not our custom.”