Sunni raids target Assad supporters in divided Homs

Outside the desertRuth Michaelson and Obaida Hamad HOMSed political security directorate in Homs, freshly recruited armed guards are engaged in a heated debate about justice.

- Ruth Michaelson and Obaida Hamad HOMS

Sado Junaid, whose sister and brother-in-law were held and tortured in the building's underground prison, sides with Mahmoud al-Bashar, who holds the coil of wire and black-andwhite rod that were used to beat him and other detainees.

They clash with another young recruit about whether they should be allowed to torture officers from the deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad before those accused of crimes face trial - or whether suspects should be handed over to Syria's nascent justice system. "I just want to meet one of them and torture them as they did me," said Mahmoud al-Bashar.

Junaid added: "If you saw someone who tortured your father, your brother, your loved one, can you really say you would deal with them peacefully?" Homs was the cradle of the uprising against Assad, where Alawites and Sunnis have long lived side by side.

Alawites in Homs, including many who once filled the ranks of Assad's army and security forces, say they are terrified of reprisal attacks and whisper about kidnappings and violence against members of their sect.

Junaid is quick to say he has no issue with the Alawite people but hopes to see justice served "for those who committed crimes".