On April 3, 2023, the bodies of four civilians, all bearing gunshot wounds, were found in the Anad al-Toum area in eastern Eqerbat in the Syrian Badiya (desert area) in the eastern suburbs of Hama. The four civilians had gone missing about 17 days before while they were on their way to collect desert truffles.
The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has not been able to identify the killers as of this writing.
SNHR is still investigating the incident in order to identify the party responsible for the killings. Currently, it is suspected that pro-regime Iranian militias are behind these crimes since the area is under the control of Syrian regime forces and pro-regime militias, who have failed to launch any investigation into the killings. Furthermore, pro-regime Iranian militias are enforcing a monopoly over the harvesting of desert truffles in the area, leading to frequent disputes between them and local residents.
