Baladi News – Lattakia (Abu Ammar Al-ladqani)
In Lattakia city, the stronghold of the Syrian regime, tension and anger spread among pro-regime loyalists after the confiscation of 71 tons of expired foodstuffs in a warehouse of a very important merchant by the Consumer Protection Division in the Department of Supply.
However, the department refused to disclose the name of the merchant, which caused dissatisfaction among residents of the city, who expressed resentment and demanded for uncovering the merchant’s name.
A member of "Lattakia Now" page on Facebook, calling herself Sara, said “It is the first time I hear about the division of consumer protection.”
Other commenters called for destroying the materials fearing that they could find a way to the markets. Another said, “The goods must be burned in public so that we can be sure that our kids won’t eat from them. Confiscating the food doesn’t necessary mean that they will be destroyed”
The members blamed security systems in the city for negligence in disclosing the name of the merchant. Bashar, one of these members, ridiculed these systems, saying “They should tell the name of that merchant. We want to congratulate him on being not guilty of such a false charge.” Meanwhile, Samer al-Boush, another commenter indicated that some security figures are involved in this incident, saying “All the beneficiaries must be exposed,”
Several reports demonstrated corrupt in police and security systems of the Shabiha-controlled city, referring to several bad practices that were documented recently. For example, civilians captured a video of one of the Shabiha attack a policeman in the bus terminal.
Imtithal, one of Lattakia residents, thinks that ISIS is less dangerous that the Shabiha in Lattakia, saying “Those controlling the city of Lattakia are more dangerous than the fighting ISIS militants, because they are killing us first.”
The Syrian regime is suffering from acute decrease in the number of its fighters after losing a lot of them in battles all around the country, which raised the percentage of females in Lattakia to 57% according to reports in the city and its countryside.