Hiba Muhammed, Baladi News, Damascus
The semi-official newspaper "al-Watan", the Syrian regime's mouthpiece, reported on Saturday that the capital Damascus and its vicinity has witnessed several thousand cases of lost or stolen mobile phones which reached unprecedented levels as the newspaper reported.
The pro newspaper said that most of the thefts happen in the public areas while getting into the city's buses, indicating that stealing mobile phones is a business that is thriving in the Syrian regime's era in Damascus, especially with the rising prices of mobile phones in general, and smart ones in particular.
"al-Watan" newspaper didn't mention any cases of arresting the thieves, but talked only about the regime's judiciary which works on documenting the thefts and the evolution of their methods. The newspaper considered that the thefts happen in the public transportation while the civilians give the fare to the bus driver.
All these incidents are not important actually, but what raises eyebrows in the report published by the newspaper is mentioning many rebel-held areas as areas in which regime's police services operate and record the statements of thefts and pickpocketing as if they are not out of its control such as Darayya, Duma, Jayrud, al-Hajar al-Asswad, and others.
The field activist in Damascus, "Alaa al-Deen Muhammed", pointed out the majority of thefts in Damascus, whether in public places or within the means of transportation, are caused by the capitals' overcrowding with thugs from all verities along with the free wandering with their weapons. Muhammed said in a private conversation with Baladi News that Damascus is famous for, since the first emergence of the thugs, acts of plundering and armed robbery.
He went on saying: "Thefts in Damascus includes the golden jewelries from women and university's female students as well as their moneys, which the thugs steal with different ways, starting from pickpocketing reaching robbing on the checkpoints".