SOHR: 14 Drug Factories Near Damascus Ran by Hezbollah, Local Militias

A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)
A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)
TT
20

SOHR: 14 Drug Factories Near Damascus Ran by Hezbollah, Local Militias

A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)
A Lebanese ‘Hezbollah’ militant carries his weapon as he stands in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region on May 15, 2015. (Reuters)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported a widespread trade of “narcotics” in Damascus countryside and nearby areas, revealing that Hezbollah and other loyal local militias were involved in the drug business.

Citing sources from al-Qalamoun area bordering Lebanon, SOHR said there is a rise in the trade of narcotic pills in the region under the control of officials and members of Hezbollah and other militant groups.

According to the war monitor, nearly 14 factories are producing these pills, with three factories in Sergaya, two in Rankos, two in Assal Al-Ward and two in al-Jebba. Also, there is one factory in each of Talfita, Bakha’a, al-Toufil, Madaya and al-Saboura.

The drug products are sold in different areas in Syria and the region.

On January 16, SOHR sources said that the proliferation of illicit pills was noticeably escalating throughout Syria, especially among youth, as they are sold in public in all regime-controlled areas, Damascus and Rif Dimashq in particular, and at lower prices than in other countries. This has made it easy for anyone to access drugs that could be available even in supermarkets and cloth stores.

Reliable SOHR sources have confirmed that military groups affiliated to the Lebanese Hezbollah are the ones responsible for the broad proliferation of hashish and pills across regime-controlled areas, as cargoes of hashish are still allowed to cross, via nonofficial crossings, from Lebanon to several areas under its control in Rif Dimashq.

These crossings include one in Sergaya area on the border with Lebanon and Assal Al-Ward, which is one of the most prominent areas where cargoes of hashish cross into Syria, as well as the nonofficial crossings with Al-Qusayr city in Homs countryside, which is controlled by officers and members of the regime-backed forces.

A civilian from Damascus known by his initials as M.A. - who is as an employee in a regime governmental circle - has told SOHR that “the area of Al-Baramekah in the capital, Damascus, became a hotbed for the dealers of hashish and drug pills. These dealers were seen standing on street corners with their hands in their pockets, waiting for boys, girls and even children and sell them drugs in public.

"I did witness one of such deals when a young man bought hashish from a drug dealer, while I was waiting for a bus,” he noted.



UN: Lifelines Keeping People Alive in Gaza Are Collapsing

21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
TT
20

UN: Lifelines Keeping People Alive in Gaza Are Collapsing

21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
21 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Mourners pray near the bodies of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, during the funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is appalled by an accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions in Gaza "where the last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing," his spokesperson said on Monday.

"He deplores the growing reports of children and adults suffering from malnutrition," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

"Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and by other humanitarian organizations."

Israeli ground troops for the first time Monday pushed into areas of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in what appeared to be the latest effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors.

Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that has not seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas militant group holds large numbers of hostages there. The main group representing hostages’ families said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, and demanded answers from Israeli leaders.

Israel says the seizure of territory in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, but it is a major point of contention in ongoing ceasefire talks.

The UN food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza's Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine.