On October 16, 2018, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham/HTS arrested 12 civilians, working in the al-Hal Market in the city of Murak, northern rural Aleppo, for unknown reasons, according to a testimony obtained by Syrians for Truth and Justice/STJ.
A local activist in the area, who refused to reveal his name for security considerations, told STJ on October 17, 2018, that elements of the al-Oqab/ Eagle Prison’s security forces have at dawn, on October 16, 2018, stormed the al-Hal Market in the city of Murak and arrested ten workers and two pistachio merchants, presenting no reasons for the arrest. Of the people arrested, he managed to identify the two merchants, Ghassan Qasem al-Tamer and Ali Abdulkareem al-Tamer.
Two months ago, the activist added, HTS conducted similar arrests at the al-Hal Market, seeking to capture merchant Hatem al-Qasem, who was shot to death by an element while trying to escape. This incited popular discontent, due to which HTS tried and executed the element that opened fire.
HTS conducted a raid and arrest operations in several areas in Aleppo, Hama and Idlib, most of which targeted civilians, while the charges and the civilians’ whereabouts remain unknown. [1]
[1] “Two Children and Young Man Dead, Others Injured in HTS Shooting in Kafr Halab”, STJ, October 11, 2018, last visit: February 8, 2019. https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/861.
“Idlib: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Arrests Activists and a Civilian on Different Charges”, Syrians for Truth and Justice, October 11, 2018, last visit: February 8, 2019. https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/863.