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When armed men appeared at a home in the northern Damascus district of Rukn al-Din, they told the elderly woman who answered the door they were state security forces carrying out a routine inspection. When the crime was reported, police refused to investigate - a sign, say residents, of the impunity of President Bashar al-Assad's security forces and allied militias blamed for a wave of abductions, theft and property seizures. Echoing complaints from rebel-held territory, where shadowy armed groups abuse and exploit civilians on the other side of the frontline, Syrians in the capital say the problem there has been exacerbated by the expansion of militias known as Popular Committees, which form part of Assad's response to the uprising now in its third year. However, with so many armed men now patrolling turf and with little oversight, many in Damascus say the government is sanctioning little more than a network of robbers.More...