Merchants, including Palestinian refugees, have reportedly been blackmailed by Syrian security forces, particularly in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.
A number of merchants have been forced to pay exorbitant fines at gunpoint and detention threats.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a merchant told AGPS that he was summoned to questioning along with other merchants at intelligence branches in Aleppo and obliged to pay 250 USD each as a “war bill”.
A number of merchants who failed to secure the required sums fled to neighboring countries for fear of incarceration.