DAMASCUS (Arrahmah.com) – The year of 2016 was the hardest on the coastal cities of Syria compared to previous years since the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
Difficulties varied from lack of security and wide spread of Shabiha mercenary groups who had done whatever they like with any security force to stop them, added to lack of public services like electricity, water and fuel, besides soaring prices.
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State of lawlessness
Armed individuals and gangs had breached all regulations and law in their practices such as killing, abduction, looting, bullying and humiliating against residents, even those loyalists to regime
Weakness of security forces had facilitated huge explosions in Tartus city, resulted in killing dozens. While other minor explosions took place in neighbourhoods of Ramil Shamali and Tishrin suburb in Latakia and Karnak neighbourhood and national highway in Tartus.
Other results of lawlessness was the increase in murdering crimes, some aimed for looting and others for revenge. Besides abducting rich people and young women for ransom.
Activist Mohammed al-Sahili mentioned the state of corruption in justice system in Latakia with widespread of bribery and unfair verdicts.
Unprecedented fires
Forest in the coastal areas suffered of wide unprecedented fires lasted for days, they even forced residents in some village to evacuate their houses near Qardaha, Asad hometown.
Regime journalist and social media sites, especially of regime loyalist mentioned the fire brigade had deliberately delayed putting out the fire. Some mentioned that fire was an intentional act committed by Shabiha and others who wanted to clear the area from trees to sell it to wealthy traders from Aleppo.
Public Services
Residents in the coastal area suffered in providing fuel, oil for vehicles and gas for cooking, as regime had reduced their share from 14,000 cylinders into 8000 only.
Rationing electricity difficult to tolerate, as current cut-off lasted for 6 hours for only one hour on. The government justified that by lack of fuel or targeting electricity stations by “terrorists”.
Prices had hugely soared due to drop of the Syrian pound exchange rate against the US. Dollar, which hardened lives of people with fixed income and salaried employees who suffered in covering their living needs.
Rotten and expired food had spread widely in the coastal area, especially Latakia city, moreover, people find no option but to use them due to their low prices.
In regard to medicine, uncontrolled and expired drugs or unknown source had spread in pharmacy, most of them smuggled by Shabiha and members of different regime forces.
Thousands of soldiers killed
It is estimated that between 7000 and 10000 soldiers and members of National Defence Forces and other regime-loyalist forces were killed in the year of 2016.
Most of them were killed in battles of Aleppo, Hama and the countryside of Latakia.
*source: Zaman Alwasl
