The town of Al-Ghazlaniyah, southeast of Damascus, was rocked by 18 days of violent clashes, following a dispute between two groups of youths before it turned into a large-scale armed confrontation in which machine guns and grenades were used, which brought to the fore the danger of uncontrolled weapons that turn any simple friction into a bloody clash.
According to local sources, a limited quarrel took place between young people from the area and others from outside the area, on the evening of Thursday, June 25, before tension quickly escalated into a clash between two families amid heavy gunfire and setting fire to a car during the chaos, pointing out that there were injuries between the residents who were transferred to nearby hospitals.
The sources said that the Internal Security Forces intervened heavily and spread in the streets and alleys, and the Al-Ghazlaniya police station issued a circular imposing a night curfew inside the town, in a step aimed at preventing renewed confrontations and containing tension.
Security forces restore calm to the town
The sources confirmed that the decision came into effect immediately, and that security patrols were deployed in the area to ensure that clashes did not return and that the state of calm that returned to the town after the security deployment was maintained.
As of the time of writing this news, the competent authorities have not issued an official toll on the number of injuries or a statement explaining the circumstances of the incident in full, while investigations continue to identify those responsible for the use of weapons and the threat to civil peace.
This incident comes in the context of a series of family and tribal clashes that are witnessed from time to time in some Syrian regions, which are often exacerbated by the proliferation of indiscriminate weapons and the transformation of individual disputes into armed confrontations, amid repeated demands from the residents to control weapons and limit them to state institutions to curb these recurring phenomena.
Severe penalties to deter uncontrolled weapons
Lawyer Yousef Abboud said in an exclusive statement to "Syrian News" thatpossessing or carrying a weapon without a license is considered a crime punishable by Syrian law, based on Legislative Decree No. 51 of 2001 and its amendments under Law No. 14 of 2022, stressing that any weapon that does not hold an official license from the Ministry of Interior falls directly within the scope of criminalization.
Syrian legislation restricts the license to only two types of weapons: pistols and hunting rifles, while it is strictly forbidden to possess or license automatic weapons such as Kalashnikovs, as weapons of war that may not be traded among civilians, Abboud said, pointing out that carrying weapons, even if they are licensed, is prohibited in gatherings, stadiums, public halls and official headquarters, in compliance with public safety standards.
Severe penalties that can be up to 15 years in prison
The lawyer pointed out that the law has tightened the penalties related to indiscriminate firing of fire, where the penalty reaches 3 years in prison with a fine and confiscation of weapons, while it rises to temporary hard labor for a period of up to 15 years if the shooting causes permanent disability or death, as part of confronting the phenomenon of stray bullets that has caused dozens of victims in recent years.
Abboud warned of the dangers of the spread of weapons outside the framework of the state, stressing that the seizure of weapons and limiting them to the hands of official authorities is the main guarantee to reduce organized crime and tribal conflicts, and prevent minor disputes from turning into armed confrontations that threaten societal peace.
At the end of his speech, Abboud stressed the need to enhance community awareness of the dangers of unlicensed weapons, and the need to strictly enforce the law, calling for the provision of safe channels for reporting violations, and the launch of initiatives to hand over unlicensed weapons in exchange for legal exemptions, as a key step to curb the spread of weapons and ensure the stability of society.
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