At Iraq-Syria border, locals push back on IRGC with leaflet campaign

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has turned the Syrian border town of Albu Kamal into a drug-smuggling corridor, even as its affiliated militias wreak havoc in the area through their looting and vandalism, activists said.

In response to these incursions, local residents have not remained silent.

Earlier this month, a group calling itself "Albu Kamal Revolutionaries" distributed leaflets in the vicinity of the town's al-Hajana roundabout that denounced the IRGC's presence in Albu Kamal.

The leaflets called out the new IRGC commanders by name -- Haj Amir Abbas and Haj Rida, who replaced the IRGC's regional commander, Haj Askar, and his deputy, Haj Sajjad -- and demanded that they "leave the city immediately".

They described these "new Iranian mercenaries" as criminals who have destroyed Albu Kamal with their smuggling of drugs and contraband, theft, looting and vandalism.

The actions of the Albu Kamal Revolutionaries are resonating strongly with the inhabitants of the region, said activist Abboud al-Hameed, an administrator of the Albu Kamal Revolutionaries Telegram account.

Local residents are angered by the conditions resulting from the IRGC's presence and its control over the area, he told Al-Mashareq.

Leaflets target militiamen

Al-Hameed noted that the new leaflet was distributed on the heels of a change in the IRGC's senior leadership, and is targeting the militiamen who have arrived with the new leadership and taken control of the city.

IRGC commanders rotate core staff members each time there is a modification in the leadership, he said, adding that the militias' headquarters and housing also change when senior officials are replaced.

Unlike the former IRGC regional commander, Haj Askar, newly appointed Haj Amir Abbas and Haj Rida rarely appear in public, al-Hameed said.

The Albu Kamal Revolutionaries group will soon reveal the names of all new members of the militias and their affiliates, where they operate, their addresses, and the locations of their headquarters, he said.

The group has taken similar action in the past, he said.

Soon after the leaflets were distributed, elements of IRGC-affiliated militias started patrolling the area intensively, Albu Kamal media activist Ayham al-Ali told Al-Mashareq.

They tore up fliers that were pasted on walls and lampposts, especially in the al-Hajana roundabout area, and began interrogating local residents to ask if they had seen the "perpetrators" putting them up, he said.

But they were unable to obtain any information from them.

This underscores the solidarity that prevails in the Albu Kamal area and the rejection of IRGC forces, which has spurred public efforts to end the presence of these forces in any way possible, al-Ali said.

Al-Hajana roundabout, where the leaflets were distributed, is a major commercial centre that gets very crowded during the day.

Drug smuggling fuels abuse

Previous leaflets distributed by Albu Kamal Revolutionaries focused on the hostile, unjust and abusive actions perpetrated by Iranian militias against the inhabitants of the region, said Deir Ezzor activist Jamil al-Abed.

The new leaflets focus on theft and smuggling -- in particular the smuggling of drugs -- he told Al-Mashareq.

He accused Iran of turning the Iraq-Syria border area into a hub for smuggling, noting that the region is already suffering from the uncontrolled proliferation of illegal drugs.

Drug abuse has spread among the residents of the region, he said, especially among the youth who work with or collaborate with IRGC militias.

"Popularising the use of drugs of all kinds appears to be a systematic plan by the IRGC's command to tighten the security cordon and their control over the area," al-Abed said.

Local residents are deeply resentful of the Iranian presence already, he said.