The regions controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria are currently facing security challenges of different degrees. These challenges primarily involve widespread weapon use, particularly during social gatherings, as well as an increase in family and clan conflicts. Additionally, there is a rise in armed gangs conducting armed robberies and ongoing activity from ISIS cells.
This state of security disorder can be viewed as a phenomenon stemming from various factors. These factors include the region’s inherent characteristics, its history of conflicts and control, the presence of multiple parties with conflicting interests within and bordering it, the nature of the current authority embodied by the Autonomous Administration and its approach to governance and security, and the tribal nature of the population.
However, the primary determinant influencing the escalation of this issue and the severity of its consequences, which include hundreds of civilian casualties annually, is the proliferation of weapons in the region, particularly in Deir ez-Zor under the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Administration. These areas consistently record the highest casualties each year due to security instability and the easy access to weapons. Reports from human rights monitors indicate a continuous rise in the number of victims in Deir ez-Zor over time, highlighting a lack of effective action by the Autonomous Administration to address or mitigate this issue. Little progress has been made despite calls from local leaders in 2021 to enact strict laws restricting the possession of unlicensed weapons among the population, citing it as a threat to social harmony.
The monitoring reports from Justice for Life in 2022 indicate an average of about ten civilian victims per month due to indiscriminate weapon use, with a majority being women and children. Furthermore, statistics from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in 2023 reveal 84 murders attributed to various motives such as theft, with 33 occurring in Deir ez-Zor. Additionally, there were 125 family and tribal disputes, including 87 in Deir ez-Zor, and 165 attacks by ISIS during the same year, with 125 targeting Deir ez-Zor specifically.
While these figures reflect the magnitude of the security chaos in Deir ez-Zor compared to the rest of the Autonomous Administration, they also highlight the widespread proliferation and uncontrolled use of weapons, surpassing that of other areas in Deir ez-Zor under the control of the Autonomous Administration. The deployment of weapons in Deir ez-Zor can be attributed to two main factors: the accumulation of weapons resulting from the events in Deir ez-Zor since the outbreak of the uprising in 2011, and its geographical location on the Syrian-Iraqi border, which facilitated the flow of weapons in previous periods. Additionally, the narrow river separation between areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration and areas controlled by the Syrian government and Iranian militias facilitates smuggling operations, especially weapons, with the complicity of both parties controlling the riverbanks.
The availability of weapons has led to a relative decrease in their prices, making them affordable for the majority of the region’s population, and thus increased demand for them due to the security conditions in Deir ez-Zor, and the decline in the role of the existing authority in maintaining security. Press reports that monitored the prices of light and medium weapons in Deir ez-Zor indicate that the price of a Kalashnikov rifle ranges between 200-1500 dollars, while a machine gun (PKC), classified as an average weapon, its price ranges between 1500-3000 dollars, and the average cost of the bullet store may reach 210,000 Syrian pounds.
The proliferation of weapons among civilians in Deir ez-Zor peaked during the clashes between tribal gunmen and the SDF in August 2023. Subsequently, the SDF initiated a security campaign, resulting in the confiscation of significant quantities of weapons and ammunition. This led to a temporary decrease in the public carrying and using weapons indiscriminately during social events. However, the problem resurfaced shortly after the campaign concluded, posing an ongoing threat to the security and safety of the population without any sustainable or effective solutions in place. In February 2024, five tribal conflicts were recorded in Deir ez-Zor.
This paper aims to assess the extent of weapon distribution among civilians in Deir ez-Zor areas governed by the Autonomous Administration, along with identifying key sources and analyzing their unregulated usage and impacts on societal peace and development. It will investigate the cultural and security motivations driving civilians to obtain weapons, while also examining past experiences of weapons collection efforts by previous governing bodies in the region. The goal is to offer practical recommendations, informed by inputs from local and civil communities, for addressing the issue of weapon proliferation in a manner that aligns with the region’s cultural and security context.
Read more: The Phenomenon of Proliferation of Weapons
