Family feud results in deaths and injuries in Syria’s Suwayda
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, five people were killed and some others were wounded in armed clashes between two of the largest families in the city of Shahba in the countryside of Suwayda, southern Syria. Among the wounded were some people who were passing through the streets near the site of the clash.
Sayah (a pseudonym), a relative of the victims, said that the incident began when Walim al-Khatib opened fire with his weapon (Kalashnikov) towards Yasser al-Tawil, “which led to his death immediately.”
Al-Khatib is a member of an armed group affiliated with a government security apparatus, while the young al-Tawil was the son of one of the largest families in the city of Shahba in al-Masaken al-Khudr area, he told North Press.
The clashes began when al-Tawil’s family heard of their son’s killing, which pushed about 50 young men from the family to head to the killer’s house east of the city of Shahba.
The armed clashes, that lasted for about two hours, resulted in two more deaths from the al-Tawil family and another person who was fighting with them, and one dead from al-Khatib family, in addition to dozens of wounded, half of whom were civilian bystanders, according to the same source.
The real reasons behind the killing that led to the clashes have not yet been known, but residents of Shahba attributed it to an old family feud.
Two years ago, a young man from the al-Tawil family was accused of killing a young man from the al-Khatib family, the brother of Anwar al-Khatib, who leads a faction affiliated with the government military security branch, which was established in 2018 and consists of about 65 members.
Following the incident, markets were closed in the city’s neighborhoods, which houses armed groups, the majority of which are affiliated with the government’s military security branch, while government security branches have not intervened so far.
After another renewal of clashes, which did not result in any deaths or injuries, notables in the city called for calm, preservation of civil peace, and the safety of the residents who have remained in their homes since the outbreak of the clashes.