Two young men, identified as 18-year-old Ghassan al-Misawi and 25-year-old Abdullah al-Khabbi from al-Mzayreeb town in the western suburbs of Daraa, were shot dead on May 18, 2023, by gunmen we have not yet been able to identify in the town’s main street. A third young man, Emad al-Nazzal, was critically wounded in the same attack.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that al-Khabbi and al-Nazzal are former armed opposition fighters, and had agreed to a security settlement in 2018 after Syrian regime forces took over the area, while al-Misawi, who worked in agricultural projects, had never joined any military groups.
The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. SNHR is still trying to locate eyewitnesses to obtain more information about the incident. We call on the controlling forces to uphold their responsibilities for protecting civilians in their areas, to investigate this incident, and to make the findings of the investigation known to the public. Syria will never have true stability without a genuine political transition process towards democracy within a fixed timetable.
Photo of Abdullah al-Khabbi
Photo of Ghassan al-Misawi
