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Smuggling is widespread in northern Syria, across the Syrian-Turkish borders.
Here, in Salqeen, which lies in the rural part of Idlib province, opposition forces have been working to put an end to this phenomenon.
This is the result of local people demanding that the smuggling stop.
"Down with smugglers… especially the rebels of Salqeen… they're concerned with making money and not the revolution… down with smugglers."
A unified military council was formed.
It is made up of several armed opposition groups and its main task is to stop the smuggling of Syrian merchandise into Turkey,
as well as putting an end to checkpoints that have mushroomed along the Syrian-Turkish border.
These checkpoints facilitate smuggling in exchange for bribes, says the head of the military council of Salqeen.
The city of Salqeen suffers from smuggling, which is carried out by some rebels, because it lies along the border with Turkey.
Thanks to God almighty, all the forces, from Qotmeh to Darkoush, 11 00:01:12,000--> 00:01:19,900 have participated in forming a sharia committee that put in place legitimate checkpoints to end smuggling into Turkey.
Salqeen has been liberated for more than a year.
Security was loose in Salqeen, as happens in any newly liberated area, because there were so many different opposition battalions doing as they pleased.
We were unable to hold any wrongdoer accountable.
Now, and thanks to these men,
there has been a coalition between most of the fighting units in Salqeen under the title, “The Military Council in the City of Salqeen.”
These units include the Falcons of Salqeen, the Hanano Brigade and the Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant.
The military council, in cooperation with the local council, formed the Revolutionary Security Force,
by recruiting civilians and rebels in order to enforce security and fight crime.
The force's tasks also include organizing traffic and monitoring prices.
We're organizing daily patrols to maintain citizens' security.
People in Salqeen testify that security has been provided.
We have a committee to monitor prices in the market. 24 00:02:24,000 -->00:02:28,900 Some people are taking advantage of the war to increase prices.
Also, when it comes to unlicensed buildings, it's forbidden to carry out any construction on public properties.
It's also strictly forbidden to dig wells in the city of Salqeen or the countryside surrounding it. 27 00:02:44,000 -->00:02:47,900 We have to deal with several obstacles every day.
One of them is that security members don't have uniforms.
People cannot tell whether someone is a member of the police force, or the Free Syrian Army.
Also the members of the security force don’t have salaries. We don’t have the means to pay them.
We demand that salaries be allocated to security members – this is still a problem.
How will these people live?
We're facing problems with some of the residents and the displaced from other areas.
There are people affiliated with armed groups who believe they are above the law.
We've overcome this obstacle by working with the military council, which is communicating with the armed groups to which these people belong.
Thank God, laws are being applied.
Civilians see the enforcement of security in opposition-held territories as a pressing need.
They want the law to be applied to all people, without exception.
We urge the Revolutionary Security Force and the military council to apply the law to everyone.
There should not be any special treatment for anyone, as there used to be under Assad’s regime,
like saying, "oh, he is the son of an official," or "he's the head of a battalion" or "he's a revolutionary" – everyone should be equal.
Carrying weapons among civilians and inside the city should also be limited.
People have had enough with weapons, whether they're used by rebels, or the government's forces, or shabiha; it's all the same.
Stopping smuggling, enforcing security and organizing traffic are some of the tasks carried out by the military council and the Revolutionary Security Force in Salqeen.
But smugglers still find a way to carry on with their work.
For Damascus Bureau, Issam Abdel Hamid, from Salqeen in the Idlib countryside.