On February 25, 2024, four civilian security guards were shot dead by gunmen while on duty in separate parallel incidents in different locations in western and northwestern rural areas of Raqqa governorate. Local residents in each location found the victims’ bodies on the ground nearby their workplaces bearing gunshot wounds, and took all of them to a hospital in Raqqa city. The area is under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has determined that the four men killed that night had worked as security guards at water stations and a metal workshop.
SNHR is still trying to locate eyewitnesses to obtain more information about the incidents.
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.