Syria’s Daraa mired in crimes, arrests, protests, security chaos
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – The city of Daraa, south Syria, witnessed on Tuesday the death of a former leader in the Syrian opposition by unidentified gunmen in addition to the arrest of two individuals by a security branch of the Syrian government forces followed by protests and roads blocking in the city center.
Local sources told North Press, “The former opposition leader, Tarek Muhammad Askar, was killed by unidentified gunmen in the town of Tafas in the western countryside of Daraa.”
“Askar, who led an opposition military group in the period before the government forces recaptured the governorate, has joined the settlement agreements in the summer of 2018,” the sources added.
In a different context, local sources told North Press that Daraa witnessed demonstrations by dozens of residents of a camp, and they blocked the roads with burning tires.
The protests started after two of the camp’s residents were arrested on a checkpoint of the government forces near the court building downtown.
Ayham al-Fashtaki and Yazan al-Sarhan were arrested while they were heading to work.
Al-Sarhan was released after the protest, but al-Fashtaki is still under arrest, without any clarifications amid news of him being transported to the Military Security Branch in order to perform the military service, according to the same sources.
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in 2018, the governorate has been living in a state of insecurity, with assassinations, arrests and thefts taking place on a daily basis amid the government’s failure to hold it under control.