Unknown gunmen kill two people in Syria’s Daraa
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – Two people were killed on Tuesday by unknown gunmen in the town of Tasil, in the western countryside of Daraa Governorate, southern Syria.
A local source told North Press that Mamdouh al-Azam and Qasem al-Odat were shot at a national park near Tasil. Al-Azam died on the spot; al-Odat was brought to Daraa’s national hospital and died shortly thereafter.
Both young men were from Tasil and were former members of the Syrian opposition before the Syrian government forces took control of the country’s south in 2018, according to the source.
Since government forces re-captured Daraa in 2018, the governorate has been in a state of insecurity, as daily assassinations target government soldiers, officials and officers. Thefts have surged, too.
In July 2018, opposition factions and Syrian government forces reached an agreement, mediated by Russia, for the opposition-held areas of Daraa. According to the deal, opposition militants who agreed to hand over heavy weapons, were handed special cards to protect them from prosecution, and allowed to stay in Daraa. Those opposed to the agreement were forced to leave for Idlib, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – formerly al-Nusra Front).
Al-Azam had defected from the Fourth Division of the Syrian army, the source added.
On January 23, unknown people targeted a military vehicle of the Syrian government forces using an IED, killing a non-commissioned officer and one of his guards in the countryside of the Qunaitra Governorate, southern Syria.
Earlier that day, a soldier of the government’s Military Security Branch was killed in an armed attack by unknown gunmen in downtown Daraa.