The Syrian regime has been using death squads in an attempt to end the demonstrations that have been sweeping the country, according to opposition sources, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus According to opposition sources, the Syrian regime has been using special armed militias or death squads to suppress protests and kill demonstrators calling for freedom and the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The squads, known as shabbiha, have been operating in Syrian cities invaded by security and military forces, the opposition said. Under the protection of the army, they have attacked protesters, raided homes and offices and looted and damaged property. Demonstrators and the coordinators of the protest movement say that members of the squads wear civilian clothes and carry automatic weapons as well as teasers. They have attacked demonstrators with unprecedented brutality, killing some and arresting and torturing others, while also looting shops, taking control of hospitals to prevent them from treating injured protesters and arresting demonstrators as doctors attempt to save their lives. The death-squad members have also taken up sniper positions atop government buildings in order to target demonstrators, all the while enjoying the protection of the country's security and military forces. The term shabbiha, used by demonstrators to describe paramilitary troops backed by the regime, is derived from the word "ghost". Members of the squads are able to commit crimes under the noses of the authorities and they are not restrained from doing so. Syrian sources say that the country's official security agencies took pre-emptive steps to form the squads after the events in Tunisia that saw the flight of former president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali in January. Paramilitary forces were created in Syria with the goal of suppressing any possible demonstrations or protests. Shabbiha members are chosen from the ranks of regime loyalists, and they are intensively trained to confront demonstrators and to kill mercilessly and cruelly. Some estimates put their numbers at around 10,000 men, which may be exaggerated, though their leaders are selected from the inner circle of the security agencies or are closely connected to them. Protesters say that the shabbiha are sometimes ex-criminals, released from prison after they have pledged their lives to defending the regime. Some shave their heads and grow their beards to look like Salafis or the terrorists that the authorities claim are participating in the demonstrations. Members of the squads are believed to be responsible for killing many of the protesters over the past five months of the demonstrations, also killing regular soldiers who refuse to protect them or to shoot at demonstrators. Several Websites have hosted video clips confirming such claims. The Syrian regime has many tools at its disposal to break up demonstrations and kill or detain protesters. At first, the country's police and anti-riot forces were in charge of their suppression, but then the security forces (mukhabarat) took charge, according to opposition figures. The more lethal role of the shabbiha death squads then came into play, and nearly two months after the uprising began the regime also involved the army in such measures. Even the Syrian navy has taken part in suppressing the demonstrations, as was witnessed in its shelling of the coastal city of Latakia. The Coordination Committees of the Syrian Revolution say that Syrian intelligence and security agencies, as well as the shabbiha squads, have thus far killed thousands of protesters. They add that the squads have carried out vicious premeditated crimes, as well as crimes against humanity, according to some Syrian human rights monitors.
