Region | Syria
Anti-government forces creep up on Damascus
Heavily guarded government offices are silent testimony
- By Mick O'Reilly, Senior Associate Editor
- Published: 00:00 February 16, 2012
Homs: They were pulled, one by one, from the modern grey eight-storey building on Ramadan Street in Barzeh, just north of the city centre here, yesterday afternoon.
Their hands were bound in plastic electrical ties, their eyes blindfolded by white bands. Two soldiers pulled each of the 22 one at a time, pulling them onto an old olive-green bus of 1960s Soviet vintage. On board, each was placed in a seat, hands behind their back, head bent forward, touching the cold metal handles of the seat in front. Their white blindfold around their heads offered their only comfort against the cold metal bars of the seat.
That was the least of their worries.
At the rear and front of the bus, soldiers stood sentinel, training their weapons and keeping a close eye on the Free Syrian Army sympathisers arrested earlier yesterday.
One officer walked the aisle of the bus, randomly striking a detainee about the head. The bus was encircled by a half-dozen or so sentries. Just after dawn, troops and security forces in armoured personnel carriers swept into this district, firing machine guns in the air.
For weeks, the largely Sunni district has been the most active in the capital in the protest movement against the 42-year rule of President Bashar Al Assad and his father, the late President Hafez Al Assad.
Little outward sign
By yesterday afternoon, there was little outward sign of the raids which occurred in the Darah Al Mustaha and Haret Al Bustan neighbourhoods of Barzeh. Security remained tight, however, with checkpoints on the roads. Every driver, passenger or pedestrian had to produce national identity cards for scrutiny. For weeks, tension had been running high, with pro-Alawite militia men in an overlooking district managing to keep a lid on anti-government forces.
At the police station, secret police brandishing Kalashnikovs and riding in Mercedes and Ford station wagons, kept a close watch on the detainees.
"These people are terrorists," one bystander told Gulf News as the detainees were driven away in the bus, surrounded by heavily-armed police in unmarked vehicles. "They are trying to overthrow Syria. Good for the police," he said.
Throughout the city, government buildings are becoming increasingly fortified, with sandbag emplacements, razor wire and sentries guarding the grounds. Visitors to the buildings are thoroughly searched, and vehicles are checked for weapons and explosives.
At strategic intersections, military checkpoints are becoming commonplace as Damascus itself tethers on the verge of political violence. So far, authorities have been largely successful in making sure the widespread violence seen in Homs, Daraa and Hama hasn't reached the capital. Yesterday morning, on the main highway north to Homs, Syrian Army forces were on high alert, with a military operation taking place near Al Qastal.
At least 200 soldiers, backed by armoured cars and tanks swept hills looking for anti-government forces. Traffic along the main Damascus-Aleppo highway was backed up for 30 minutes as the military checked vehicles.
Two weeks after, however, security forces swept into the north eastern suburbs to quell anti-government forces. At least 20 people were killed in that operation. Even now, access to the areas is strictly controlled, with checkpoints, tanks, armoured cars and machine gun emplacements maintaining an uneasy calm.
Arrest and detention
In Barzeh yesterday, the military operation destroyed the front of shops and turned back local students who were heading to school, college and university.
The arrest and detention of the men witnessed yesterday by Gulf News shows that opposition to the Al Assad rule has reached the heart of Damascus.
Residents of the city have been able to move about relatively normally. Economic sanctions, however, are beginning to bite. Long lines have formed at petrol stations in the city as drivers try to fill up.
Visa, MasterCard and money transfer services between Syria and the rest of the world are impossible, with ATMs reporting a "technical malfunction" for customers attempting to withdraw cash from non-Syrian financial institutions.
Bus services are largely suspended, with the Damascus bus fleet commandeered to move troops around the hotspots and quell tensions. Ordinary citizens are forced to rely on fleets of battered minivans for transit services.
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