A woman, identified as Fatima Abdul Majid al-Zou’bi, was killed on December 9, 2023, in an explosion that also critically injured two of her children at her house in her hometown of al-Sheikh Saed in western rural Daraa governorate. The explosion was caused by explosives whose source we have not yet been able to identify, which had been placed in a children’s gift bag. Fatima’s children found the bag and brought it home for their mother, who opened it, at which point it exploded.
The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is still looking for eyewitnesses and survivors to obtain more information about the incident.
SNHR condemns all bombings targeting civilians. 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.
