On April 16, 2023, six civilians were shot dead by gunmen who we have not yet been able to identify, who shot all the victims in the head while they were herding sheep in the badiya or desert area of Buqrus Sharqi in eastern Deir Ez-Zour governorate.
The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (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 and to investigate this incident and make the findings of the investigation known to the public. Syria will never have true stability without a genuine political transition process towards democracy within a fixed timetable.
