Syria: Explosion Kills 2 Members of Pro-Hezbollah Golan Regiment

Syria's Quneitra (SOHR)
Syria's Quneitra (SOHR)
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Syria: Explosion Kills 2 Members of Pro-Hezbollah Golan Regiment

Syria's Quneitra (SOHR)
Syria's Quneitra (SOHR)

Two members of the Golan Regiment, a group close to the Lebanese Hezbollah, were killed and two others were injured as an IED targeted their car in the village of Al-Qusayba in the southern countryside of Quneitra.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Saturday the death of one member of the Golan Regiment forces and three injuries.

However, a member died later as a result of his injuries, bringing the death toll to two.

Last week, the Observatory reported that unknown gunmen opened fire on a post of the regime’s ally forces of Golan Regiment in the Jaba town in Quneitra’s countryside. The attack left a member of the Regiment dead.

As part of the targeted assassinations in Daraa and Quneitra provinces in southern Syria, the Quneitra Today network wrote on its Facebook page Sunday that Lieutenant Mohammed al-Abdallah, a member of Qunaitra’s police, was killed by unknown gunmen in an ambush when his patrol was passing near the west Samadaniyah junction.

On January 7, SOHR activists said another IED exploded in a car carrying people on the road to Mumtanah in the central countryside of Quneitra. It targeted a former opposition leader of the Martyrs of Al-Quneitra faction who struck a reconciliation deal and joined the Military Security “branch 220” with several members of the faction. The explosion killed the leader and injured three other people who were escorting him.

In the countryside of Daraa, the Observatory documented the death of an ex-fighter of “Fajr Al-Islam” faction, after being shot Sunday in Tafas city in west Daraa countryside.

The victim was part of Al-Za’bi tribe, which has clashed with “Kiwan” tribe for days, as tension continues to prevail in the Tafas city.

The London-based watchdog wrote that although tribal and military officials mediated between the two sides in order to defuse the bloody conflict, no solutions have been reached.

Since the beginning of the security chaos in Daraa in early June 2019, Syrian Observatory activists have documented more than 853 attacks and assassination attempts by gunfire and detonations of IEDs, motorcycle-bombs and car-bombs. The attacks have claimed the lives of 564 persons.



Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian police have imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs, state media reported, after unrest there linked to demonstrations that residents said were led by members of the minority Alawite and Shiite communities.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the demands of the demonstrators nor the degree of disturbance that took place.

Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite minority, a sect long seen as loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by opposition fighters on Dec. 8.

Spokespeople for Syria’s new ruling administration led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the curfew.

State media said the curfew was being imposed for one night, from 6pm (1500 GMT) local time until 8am on Thursday morning.

The country's new leaders have repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups.

Small demonstrations also took place in other areas on or near Syria’s coast, where most of the country’s Alawite minority live, including in the city of Tartous.

The demonstrations took place around the time an undated video was circulated on social networks showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo, with armed men walking around inside and posing near human bodies.

The interior ministry said on its official Telegram account that the video dated back to the opposition offensive on Aleppo in late November and the violence was carried out by unknown groups, adding that whoever was circulating the video now appeared to be seeking to incite sectarian strife.

The ministry also said that some members of the former regime had attacked interior ministry forces in Syria’s coastal area on Wednesday, leaving a number of dead and wounded.