A man, identified as Mahmoud Ahmda al-Atma who worked as a merchant, was shot dead on August 18, 2023, by gunmen we have not yet been able to identify in a street in his home city of al-Sanamayn in northern Daraa governorate.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights notes that al-Atma had been involved with an armed opposition faction in the past in his home city, before it was taken over by Syrian regime forces. Al-Atma received a ‘settlement card’ from Syrian regime forces in July 2018, and completely retired from military life, living as a civilian ever since.
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.
