ALEPPO, Syria — To the victor go the spoils: That might be true for most other wars, but the Syrian conflict has proven to be far outside the established norms and conventions governing the conduct of battle. From the petty theft of armed highwaymen, to the systematic wholesale emptying of entire neighborhoods and industrial zones, in Syria the spoils are going to whoever has a gun, and there are plenty of those about.

While it is perhaps unremarkable to find small-scale opportunistic thieves and gangs operating in any conflict where lawlessness and chaos prevail, what has set the Syrian war aside is the sheer scale and organization of some of the brazen acts of thievery that have taken place.

As with most things in the messy quagmire that is Syria today, some acts of banditry have taken on sectarian overtones. Whether in certain cases this is due to the nature and makeup of the warring sides or the disputed territory in question is hard to tell, but as ever each side tries to stoke up even more hatred and bile toward its enemy by constantly fanning the putrid flames of sectarian animosity. 

A glaring example of this would have to be the “Souk al-Sunnah,” or the Sunni Market, where it was alleged by some in the Syrian opposition that looted goods from the predominantly Sunni rebel-held neighborhoods of Homs were taken to be sold at knock-off prices by the mainly Alawi militiamen who looted them. These allegations have resurfaced time and again, although there is scant evidence to suggest that they are anything other than opportunistic looting by disorderly militiamen looking to make a quick buck, and not necessarily motivated by sectarianism.