page_title: Law enforcement in Syria
hierarchical_section_title: Law enforcement in Syria
caption_attribution_description: English: Anti-riot police in central Damascus, Jan. 16, 2012. Photo taken by VOA Middle East correspondent Elizabeth Arrott while traveling through Damascus with government escorts.
context_page_description: Law enforcement in Syria is carried out by police forces for general policing duties; internal security duties are carried out by several intelligence agencies. The Political Security Directorate is one of these agencies and is under the guidance of the Ministry of Interior. The Directorate operates independently and generally outside the control of the legal system to repress internal dissent and monitor individual citizens. Syria has been an INTERPOL member since 1953. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, much of Syria has been outside the control of the Syrian government. Currently, the Asayish are responsible for policing in Rojava, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Police in areas under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria, and various Syrian opposition groups around Idlib
  The Ministry of Interior controls the Internal Security Forces. There are also other specialized organizations, such as the special metropolitan police in Damascus, the Gendarmerie for control in rural areas and the Desert Guard for border control. General Nasser Deeb is the head of the Criminal Security Directorate.
context_section_description: Law enforcement in Syria is carried out by police forces for general policing duties; internal security duties are carried out by several intelligence agencies. The Political Security Directorate is one of these agencies and is under the guidance of the Ministry of Interior. The Directorate operates independently and generally outside the control of the legal system to repress internal dissent and monitor individual citizens. Syria has been an INTERPOL member since 1953. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, much of Syria has been outside the control of the Syrian government. Currently, the Asayish are responsible for policing in Rojava, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Police in areas under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria, and various Syrian opposition groups around Idlib
  The Ministry of Interior controls the Internal Security Forces. There are also other specialized organizations, such as the special metropolitan police in Damascus (overseen by the Director General of the Public Security and Police), the Gendarmerie for control in rural areas and the Desert Guard for border control (especially the Syria-Iraq border). General Nasser Deeb is the head of the Criminal Security Directorate.
  The Internal Security Forces Day is on 29 May, the anniversary of French forces shelling the Parliament building in Damascus in 1945.
caption: Syrian riot police in central Damascus.
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