One Month after settlements, security situation deteriorated in Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – Assassinations and arrests significantly increased during November after the completion of the second settlement process in Daraa governorate, southern Syria.
Yesterday, the Martyrs Documentation Office in Daraa issued a report documented the numbers of detainees, the dead, and the assassinations in the area.
Since last September, Russia has sought to limit assassinations through settlements process.
The office documented 48 assassinations that killed 30 people and injured 16 others, while two others survived. This statistic does not include the attacks on government forces’ checkpoints and columns.
Nine ex-fighters of the opposition factions, including four who joined the government forces after taking control of the governorate, in August 2018, were killed during the assassinations, according to the report.
The report said 20 assassinations were carried out through direct fire, two summary executions, five operations using IED and three operations using hand grenades.
The report documented 32 operations and assassination attempts took place in the western countryside of Daraa, and 16 operations and assassination attempts took place in the eastern countryside, while no operation was documented in the city center.
During November, Daraa governorate witnessed an increase in the number of detainees, although it hasn’t been more than a month since the settlement process ended.
The Office’s report stated that there was a sharp increase in arrests in Daraa compared to previous months. It documented at least 71 cases of arrest and kidnapping.
“31 of them were released later that month,” it added. However, this statistic does not include those who were arrested with the aim of driving them to conscription and reserve military services in the government forces.
The office indicated that the government forces continue to arrest those who were among the former opposition factions, as it has documented the arrest of 23 of them.
Muhammad al-Shara’a, a member of the Documentation Office, told North Press that the arrests carried out by the Air Force Intelligence service have increased after it took over the eastern countryside of Daraa and deployed its checkpoints there.
“The arrest of four people with a second settlement was documented, and all of them were released days after their arrest,” he added.
Ibrahim al-Jabawi, member of the Negotiating Committee, told North Press that “the increase in assassinations after the second settlement agreement has two main reasons, the first is the appearance of Hezbollah agents and Iranian militias in some towns and villages and their boasting about that.”
“The second reason is the revenge of Hezbollah militias and government forces against those who were within the opposition ranks, especially those who continued their struggle against the government,” he added.