A 28-year-old man, identified as Saleh al-Zitawi, was shot dead on December 13, 2023, by gunmen we have not yet been able to identify in the market in his hometown of Mzayreeb in western Daraa governorate.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights notes that Saleh had been an armed opposition fighter, until July 2018 when Syrian regime forces re-established control over the area, at which point he agreed to receive a settlement card. He had been completely retired from military life since then.
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 investigation’s findings known to the public. Syria will never have true stability without a genuine political transition process towards democracy within a fixed timetable.
