Al-Nusra Front issues a sudden decision to close the weapons shops in its areas of control

The Al-Nusra Front issued a sudden decision, according to which it prohibited the sale and purchase of weapons in shops, within its control areas in Idlib and some areas of the countryside of Aleppo.

The decision stated that all shops selling, buying and maintaining weapons within the areas controlled by Al-Nusra must be closed, and the owners of these stores must be called upon to review the headquarters of Al-Nusra to provide new instructions regarding their shops, as the decision indicated that Al-Nusra is studying new mechanisms for arms trade in its areas of control. However, it will not disclose it until after the closure decision is implemented.

The decision gave store owners a deadline until the fifteenth of next February to close their stores and empty them of their contents, indicating that the “Al-Nusra” patrols will roam in all regions, to ensure the implementation of the decision and that whoever violates its provisions will be held responsible for that.

Al-Nusra’s decision comes during the recurrence of explosions incidents resulting from mistakes in dealing with weapons in shops specialized in selling and maintaining weapons, which are mostly located in residential neighborhoods, which led to casualties and injuries as a result of those explosions.

Al-Nusra’s control areas are witnessing widespread security chaos and the spread of indiscriminate weapons, as anyone can buy any weapon and use it for his personal purposes, which has resulted in the spread of crimes and security incidents amid the Al-Nusra’s inability to control the security situation in the area, while local sources suggested that the decision aims to monopolize the “Al-Nusra” leaders of the arms trade, just as they monopolize the hydrocarbon trade.