On March 27, 2024, the bodies of two men bearing gunshot wounds, identified as Abdullah Mahmoud al-Houshan and Akram al-Hamad were found by local residents in the west of their hometown of Mahajja in northern rural Daraa governorate. The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that the two men had been armed opposition fighters, until July 2018 when Syrian regime forces re-established control over the area, at which point they had agreed to a security settlement with the regime. They had retired completely from military life since then, living a civilian life until their death.
SNHR has not yet been able to identify Abdullah’s and Akram’s killers, with the controlling forces bearing responsibility for identifying the killers.