Six young men killed at government checkpoint in Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – Local sources in Daraa, southern Syria, said on Friday that the news of the killing of six young men, who went missing last night, at a government checkpoint in the eastern countryside has been confirmed, and that the government forces refuse to hand over their bodies to their families.
From the early hours until this afternoon, news of the killing of the six young men at the quadripartite checkpoint south of the town of al-Musaifra in the eastern countryside of Daraa while returning from the town of al-Giza late last night, were rolled.
Sources in the city told North Press that Tariq Ziyad al-Jawfi and Malik Kamal Khalifa from the eastern town of al-Karak, Rami Rashad al-Hariri and Muhannad al-Hariri from the town of al-Giza, Muyyasser Fozat Qatif and Hussam al-Hariri from the town of Alma, were killed at the military checkpoint of the Air Force Intelligence.
The bodies of the young men were in the headquarters of Lieutenant-Colonel Ala’ (Air Force Intelligence) in the town of al-Ghariya al-Sharqiya in the eastern countryside of Daraa, before being transferred to the refrigerator at the National Hospital in Daraa, according to the source.
One of the victims’ relatives said that the government forces refused to hand over the six bodies to their families, amid reports that they had been transferred to the 601 Military Hospital in Damascus.
The quadripartite checkpoint stationed at the crossroads between Daraa and the city of Bosra al-Sham is one of the largest military checkpoints in the eastern countryside of Daraa. It is reinforced with a large number of members and four tanks, which makes some compare it to a military barracks.
Official government media, including Sama TV, quoted a military source as saying that the government checkpoint near al-Musaifra was attacked late at night, and that the checkpoint members were able to eliminate all members of the attacking terrorist group.
However, a resident of Daraa said that it was unlikely that the young men had attacked the checkpoint, citing the fact that most of them were civilians and that they were only at a visit in al-Giza.
He added that Rami Rashad al-Hariri was a group leader in the Eighth Brigade of the Russian-backed Fifth Corps, while the rest of the young men were civilians and did not join any military or security agency.
Syrian government forces and pro-Iranian factions have been besieging the Daraa al-Balad and other neighborhoods and closing all roads leading to them for more than two months.
On August 24, the agreement reached between the Central Committee in Daraa and the Russian Military Police (MP) collapsed hours after the implementation of its terms due to two individuals, whom the government demanded be departed to Syrian north, who refused to be deported from Daraa al-Balad.
Meanwhile, pro-Iranian factions continued shelling the besieged neighborhoods (Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sad, and the camps) in Daraa city.
Additionally, the pro-Iranian factions have brought more reinforcements to the outskirts of Daraa al-Balad and the besieged neighborhoods in order to foil the agreement, local sources told North Press.