While sweeping the city for explosive devices, Syrian soldiers have discovered a number of so-called ‘internal passports’, which were issued by the militants during the occupation and were later discarded by the residents during the evacuation.
Sputnik correspondents managed to photograph a pair of discarded 'passports' that used to belong to two female residents of Darayya. The IDs feature a design which differs from those of government-issued Syrian passports. Furthermore, it should be noted that the veracity of information contained in these makeshift IDs is suspect.
During the Darayya occupation, the local militants publicly destroyed their Syrian passports as a sign of defiance against the Syrian government. After that, they started printing and issuing passports of their own making, not just for themselves but for local residents as well.
The locals were forced to use these makeshift IDs because it was the only way to pass through militant checkpoints and to obtain goods and services in militant-held areas.
After the liberation, however, the town residents started to get rid of their militant-issued passports, making it clear that they wanted nothing to do with members of the so called 'armed opposition', many of whom turn out to be foreign mercenaries, according to sources in the Syrian army.
The city of Darayya, located on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus, was liberated in August after the militants holding it agreed to a truce and were allowed to evacuate the city along with civilians.
