A man, identified as 29-year-old Wesam Qasim Mohammad Abu Salem, was shot dead on May 21, 2024, by gunmen we have not yet been able to identify in his home city of al-Hrak in eastern rural Daraa governorate. The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Wesam had been a member of armed opposition factions in Daraa before regime forces took control of the city in July 2018, at which time he agreed to settle his security situation with the Syrian regime. He has completely retired from military life ever since, and worked as a freelancer.
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.
