Former Syrian opposition commander killed after arrest in Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – A former opposition commander who recently joined the Syrian Ministry of Defense was killed on Saturday from wounds sustained during his arrest earlier this week in southern Syria’s Daraa Governorate.
North Press correspondent in Daraa reported that Bilal al-Droubi died in a hospital in the capital, Damascus, on Saturday morning.
He had been critically injured on April 10 after being shot multiple times during his arrest by members of the Ahmad al-Awda group, formerly known as the Eighth Brigade, in the town of Busra al-Sham in the east Daraa.
The incident triggered heightened tensions. On Friday, Syria’s General Security Directorate demanded that al-Awda’s group hand over those responsible for the shooting.
Initially resistant, al-Awda reportedly agreed to comply following mediation efforts by local tribal and community leaders.
Reinforcements from the General Security Directorate and Ministry of Defense were deployed to Busra al-Sham, which remains the stronghold of al-Awda’s faction.
The security forces entered the town, detained four individuals involved in the shooting, and bolstered the General Security outpost there.
Sources close to Ahmad al-Awda confirmed to North Press that efforts are underway to formally integrate his militants into the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
Name lists have already been submitted, and a financial grant was distributed to militants ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
This move comes after an agreement on Friday between Syrian security authorities and the Eighth Brigade, facilitated by prominent figures in Daraa, to allow the peaceful entry of state forces into Busra al-Sham and to hand over the individuals accused in al-Droubi’s shooting.