On September 9, 2023, seven civilians were shot dead by gunmen we have not been able to identify in the badiya or ‘desert’ area around al-Shoula in southern Deir Ez-Zour governorate. The gunmen deliberately opened fire directly at the civilians who were herding sheep at the time.
The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (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.
