Two men, identified as Rami al-Ghazzawi and Fadi Halawa, were shot dead on April 21, 2024, by gunmen we have not yet been able to identify near the al-Shemmari Mill in their hometown of al-Mzayreeb in western rural Daraa governorate, while a third man, identified as Mahmoud Abu Saif, was injured in the same shooting. The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that the three 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, they were active in the drug trade; however.
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.
