Assad licences private security companies in Syria

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad issued on Monday a legislative decree licensing private companies for protection and guarding services, state-run news agency (SANA) reported. The guards working for the security companies will have to wear a uniform bearing labels identifying them and the name of the company they work for, and they are not permitted to bear arms outside work hours or use it in tasks other than the ones appointed to them by the company. The guards will authorised to arrest anyone who “attempts to trespass or attack locations, individuals, items or funds under their protection,” according to SANA.