According to activists and local media on Thursday, quoted by Reuters, the number of people killed in al-Suwayda clashes in southern Syria has increased to 17 people.
As a result of the clashes that occurred between local groups and groups affiliated with the Syrian regime in the past days, besides the dead, dozens of people were also injured.
The Druze-majority governorate has been largely shielded from the bloody conflict that has engulfed the rest of the country since 2011, but has seen sporadic protests due to the dire economic situation.
“Crowds are increasingly frustrated and angry at arbitrary arrests, roadblocks, and kidnappings for ransom by Syrian regime-backed fighters,” said Rayan Marouf, editor of the local al-Suwayda 24 channel.
Suwayda province saw an “armed uprising” described by observers and activists, where the “biggest of its kind” conflict broke out between local factions on the one hand and groups accused of being affiliated with the “military intelligence sector”. The Syrian regime on the other hand.
These clashes, which continued until the morning of Wednesday, led to the control of the “Men of Dignity Movement” and “Liva Al-Jabal” from the headquarters of the “Fajr Forces Group” led by the so-called “Raji al-Falhout”. “, which in turn is accused by provincial activists and leaders of local factions of being associated with.
The reflection of this incident goes back to last Saturday, after the kidnapping of the people of the city of Shahba in the northern suburbs of Sweida by the “Al-Falhout Group”, which was met with a counter-operation that targeted the officers of the Syrian regime forces.
According to Maarif, the above events led to the closure of the international road between Damascus and al-Suwayda for days, before the two sides reached an agreement to release the prisoners from both sides.
“The agreement did not last long, as the group affiliated with the Military Intelligence Department changed it on Monday, which eventually led to an armed uprising led mainly by the Men of Dignity movement and local fighters from different regions,” Maarif continued. State.”
“Rajal al-Karamah” is considered one of the most prominent local groups that has a large popular base in al-Suwayda dominated by the Druzes.
Source: Lebanon Debate
