Aleppo governorate quoted the province’s Internal Security Command as announcing the launch of the City Monitoring Unit (CMU) in several neighborhoods across the city.
According to the governorate’s statement on Monday, February 9, the move aims to enhance safety and improve response efficiency to day to day incidents, helping strengthen community stability and improve security conditions in residential areas.
In an interview with Enab Baladi, the media office director at Aleppo’s Internal Security Directorate, Mohammad al-Saeed, said the idea behind the unit stems from the principle of community partnership in establishing security.
He added that the matter is not limited to the Ministry of Interior alone, and that the local community should also take part in this task.
According to al-Saeed, the unit targets specific segments, including university students and some youth groups, based on certain criteria and standards. Work will be part time in return for a monthly wage.
Al-Saeed explained that members of the City Monitoring Unit operate with direct links to the Internal Security Directorate’s operations rooms and are equipped with surveillance cameras and non-lethal tools control tools.
He noted that the tools used are limited to items such as an electric baton, pepper spray, and handcuffs, without carrying firearms such as pistols.
Unit members are deployed at fixed field presence points within neighborhoods, locally known as a “kolbeh,” with one or two members at each point. They are also provided with a light means of transport, such as a scooter, to facilitate movement inside the neighborhood.
According to al-Saeed, the “kolbehs” operate 24 hours a day through shift systems and carry out a community policing role by monitoring, surveillance, and conducting patrols, with direct linkage to the Internal Security Forces operations room to handle what he described as non-emergency incidents inside neighborhoods and maintain daily security.
He added that the overall aim of launching the unit is to raise the level of security in neighborhoods and increase the capacity for initial response to daily incidents.
It also contributes to strengthening visible police presence, providing flexible job opportunities for youth, and reducing theft and daily violations.
On the social and security level, al-Saeed expected the City Monitoring Unit to help build public trust and reassurance, and improve relations between the public and security agencies.
The unit is expected to expand the scope of field monitoring and reduce rates of minor theft, such as bag snatching or breaking car windows, in addition to contributing to reducing unemployment, especially among students.
Varying security incidents
The launch of the City Monitoring Unit comes amid a security reality in Aleppo’s neighborhoods, where daily incidents of varying severity occur in different parts of the city, including theft, individual altercations, vandalism incidents, as well as killings and assassinations.
Aleppo also sees cases from time to time related to theft of internet cables, incidents that have a direct impact on residents’ lives and services, as entire neighborhoods lose connectivity for hours or days.
These thefts are recorded in different parts of the city, taking advantage of weak monitoring at some points.
In recent months, the city has also seen a series of targeting incidents and killings, with motives varying between family disputes, revenge, and security related factors.
In this context, two people were killed inside a gold jewelry shop in al-Halak neighborhood in Aleppo in December 2025, after two unidentified gunmen opened fire inside the store before fleeing to an unknown location.
The motives behind the crime remain unknown, and it is not yet clear whether it was an armed robbery aimed at stealing from the shop or linked to revenge related backgrounds, amid the absence of official information clarifying the circumstances of the incident.
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