A man, identified as 40-year-old Osama Mahmoud al-Haj Ali from Jasim city in northern rural Daraa governorate, was shot dead on November 29, 2024, by unidentified gunmen while on his way to attend the Friday Prayer in a mosque in his home city. The city is under the control of Syrian regime forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Osama had previously been an armed opposition fighter in Daraa before it was taken over by Syrian regime forces in July 2018, at which point he agreed to settle his security status with the regime. He had completely retired from military life since then, living as a civilian.
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.
