CAIRO: Syrian security forces are responsible for the murder of one Syrian teenager and the abduction of another while coercing student participation in pro-government rallies that have taken place throughout Syria over the past few weeks, human rights organizations have reported. 14-year-old Mohamed Malla Essa was shot in the chest at pointblank range by Syrian security forces on November 13 in the city of Deir Ezzour because of his refusal to participate in an “artificial pro-regime march,” according to a Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) press release. Malla Essa was shot in front of his classmates in an effort to coerce them into participating in the march. In a similar case in Deir Ezzour, security forces chased down 15-year-old Tariq Salloum as he attempted to escape participation in a similar rally. Upon catching him, the officers beat him with their rifles and made him swear allegiance to Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, in front of his peers. Security forces then whisked Salloum away to a military center where he remains in custody. The Syrian regime has become reliant upon the use of threats and coercion in order to organize public displays of pro-government support. According to SOHR, pro-regime marches and rallies are predominantly comprised of government employees who face dismissal from the jobs should they refuse to participate. In addition to the public employees, who account for nearly 65 percent of the Syrian workforce, high school students from most of Syria's provinces are required to leave school to show their support for the al-Assad regime. The Syrian Observatory condemned the government's exploitation of the Syrian youth for political gain and has called upon the United Nations and the UN Security Council to utilize all available means to protect them. BM
