(Zaman Al Wasl)- Armed factions have stormed military checkpoints in southern Daraa province, taking more than 20 soldiers hostages, seeking to push the Syrian regime to release the detainees, activists said Saturday.
The surprise attack on regime outposts took place in the town of Sheikh Saad in the western countryside and in the town of Nahta and al-Karak al-Sharqi in the eastern countryside near the Jordanian border.
Clashes were also reported in the town of al-Sanamayn.
Local activists said the move by the armed groups followed residents’ demand to release of their relatives held by the regime forces for years.
Despite the Russian-brokered reconciliation deal in Daraa province two years ago, most of the detainees are still behind the bars.
Local activists say the frustration is mounting with regards to the regime’s security policies of arbitrary arrest and isolating the towns with military barriers.
About 1.2 million Syrian citizens have been arrested and detained at some point in the regime’s detention centers, including 130,000 individuals who are still detained or forcibly disappeared by the Syrian regime, since the revolution erupted in March 2011, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Eight years of the Syrian war that erupted in Daraa as peaceful protests have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighboring countries.
Zaman Al Wasl
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.