Syrian security forces searched Thursday for former soldiers and pro-Assad militants in the city of Homs who have refused to turn in their weapons, state media said.
The SANA news agency cited a military official saying the rebels who ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad had set up centers in Homs for the soldiers and militants to turn in their arms in a process carried out in other parts of Syria.
The report said the new Syrian authorities received reports weeks ago that there were remnants of pro-Assad militias in Homs.
A few dozen protesters gathered in the Syrian city of Douma on Wednesday to demand answers in the disappearance of four prominent activists who were abducted more than a decade ago.
The demonstrators called on Syria’s new rulers — the Islamist-led rebels who seized power last month — to investigate what happened to them.
The activists in question are Razan Zaitouneh, her husband, Wael Hamadeh, Samira Khalil and Nazem Hammadi.
On December 9, 2013, unidentified gunmen stormed the Violations Documentation Center in Douma, northeast of Damascus, and abducted the four activists. The center was set up in 2011 to monitor human rights violations in Syria. At the time, Douma was held by rebels.
There has been no sign of life or proof of death since they were abducted.
Zaitouneh was one of Syria’s most prominent human rights activists, in part because she documented abuses by then-President Assad’s government and rebel groups in equal measure.
Zaitouneh’s work earned her global recognition, including an International Woman of Courage Award presented by then-U.S. first lady Michelle Obama in 2013.
At the Wednesday protest, demonstrators held up photos of the missing activists.
“We are here because we want to know the whole truth about two women and two men who were disappeared from this place 11 years and 22 days ago,” said activist Yassin Al-Haj Saleh, whose wife, Khalil, was among those abducted.
“We are gathering here to remind the world of their case,” he added. “This is the first opportunity that allows us to be in Douma and in front of the place that they were kidnapped from, to speak up about the case, taking advantage of the political change that took place in the country.”
Since the Assad government was ousted last month, protests have occurred across the country, calling for information about the thousands of people who disappeared by force under Assad’s rule.
Syria’s transitional government — led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the ouster of Assad — has been neutral regarding accusations against various armed groups in the enforced disappearance of activists. HTS has also aligned with activists in their efforts to seek truth and justice.
“We are here because we want the truth. The truth about their fate and justice for them, so that we may heal our wounds,” said Alaa al-Merhi, Khalil’s niece.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, but signs point to the Army of Islam, the most powerful rebel faction in Douma at the time. The group has long denied involvement.
Zaitouneh had received threats from both the government and rebels before she went missing. Friends and activists have said some of the threats can be traced to the Army of Islam.
Protesters on Wednesday held banners accusing the Army of Islam of the abduction.
“We have enough evidence to incriminate Jaish al-Islam, and we have the names of suspects we would like to see investigated,” Haj Saleh said, using another name for the group.
He said he wanted “the perpetrators to be tried by the Syrian courts.”
The Army of Islam remains an armed faction backed by Turkey. It is excluded from the HTS-led Syrian leadership.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
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