According to Syrian news outlets, the Internal Security Directorate in Aleppo announced on Monday, 9 February 2026, the launch of a City Monitoring Unit (CMU) in several neighbourhoods as part of broader efforts to consolidate stability and enhance residents' living environment after years of security and service challenges.
The CMU established permanent field posts in neighbourhoods, locally known as Al-Kulebah (booths), operating on a 24-hour shift system. These posts function as a form of community policing, conducting surveillance, monitoring, and neighbourhood patrols, while maintaining direct coordination with the Internal Security Operations Room. This arrangement allows for rapid intervention, ensures daily security, and addresses so-called "cold cases", such as minor thefts and routine violations.
According to the Internal Security Directorate, the unit's primary objective is to increase safety in residential neighbourhoods, enhance initial incident response capabilities, and boost the visible police presence, which helps reduce violations and reassure residents.
The initiative also provides flexible employment opportunities for youth and students amid high unemployment rates.
Each Kulebah is a permanent building designed for continuous operation, equipped with a monitoring screen and essential operational equipment. It also includes an electric scooter for rapid neighbourhood patrols and safe handling tools for non-critical incidents, ensuring the safety of both personnel and residents.
The CMU's launch received cautious approval from residents of the included neighbourhoods. Marwan Al-Bakr, a resident of the Salah Al-Din neighbourhood, told Al-Araby al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic language sister publication, that the presence of a permanent security post helped increase residents' sense of security, especially given the repeated minor thefts and daily issues that previously took a long time to resolve.
He explained that rapid incident response, along with the security personnel's familiarity with the neighbourhood, its residents, and its details, is a key factor in the initiative's success.
He added that a consistent, close security presence may reduce daily violations and strengthen residents’ trust in security services.
Maryam Al-Jadaan, an employee living in the Hamdaniya neighbourhood, told Al-Araby al-Jadeed that "visible police presence in neighbourhoods can reduce daily violations and encourage residents to cooperate and report problems rather than ignore them."
"The success of this initiative largely depends on how the personnel interact with residents, noting that close engagement, respect, and listening are what will determine whether these posts become genuine sources of reassurance or remain a symbolic presence that fails to achieve the intended goal," she added.
Mahmoud Al-Omar, a university student, said that offering part-time work within the City Monitoring Units could help reduce the economic burden on youth, especially students who face challenges securing a stable income while studying.
He told Al-Araby al-Jadeed that involving young people in these units provides them with a positive role in serving their neighbourhoods and reinforces a sense of social responsibility, rather than leaving them outside the labour market or vulnerable to unemployment.
Al-Omar added that this step could positively impact social stability and help reduce problems associated with a lack of opportunities.
The launch of the City Monitoring Unit comes within a broader effort to strengthen community policing in Aleppo, following years of weak security presence in some neighbourhoods due to the war and its aftermath. This model relies on proximity to residents and building mutual trust, rather than intervening only after incidents occur.
Syrian authorities expect the initiative to improve relations between citizens and security institutions, expand preventive monitoring, and reduce petty theft and minor violations, thereby positively affecting social and economic stability in the city.
Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari.