Damascus Accused of Assassinating Figures of Russian Settlement in South Syria 

Around 3,000 people on Thursday attended in Daraa the funeral of Syrian opposition commanders, who had contributed to striking reconciliation agreements with Russia in mid-2018.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 3,000 people participated in the funeral of former leaders and fighters of factions in the city of Daraa, chanting slogans against the Syrian regime and holding its military responsible for the assassinations.

It said the identity of the gunmen, who targeted former opposition leaders and fighters in Daraa province, is still unknown.

On Wednesday, Adham Akrad, a prominent ex-opposition commander, the commander of the artillery regiment in the operations room of “Al-Bunyan Al-Marsus,” was killed along with four people, two of them being former leaders of factions in Daraa, after a car that was carrying them was targeted by unknown persons at the Tabna Junction near the city of Izraa.

Famous for the words ”Moscow may fall but Daraa will never fall,” Akrad struck a reconciliation deal with the regime forces after they took control of the city.

His killing was the most significant assassination in Daraa since the Syrian regime took control of it.

Since the beginning of the security chaos in early June 2019, Syrian Observatory activists have documented more than 714 attacks and assassination attempts by gunfire and detonations of IEDs, motorcycle-bombs and car-bombs.

These attacks and assassinations have claimed the lives of 474 persons, including 23 Syrian militiamen affiliated to the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian forces, and 22 members of the so-called 5th Corps established by Russia.

The London-based watchdog said the Russian-Iranian conflict continues to escalate throughout southern Syria, particularly in Daraa province. Russia continues its attempt to consolidate the influence of the 5th Corps, seeking to turn its back on the Iranians and gain absolute control over Daraa.

Iran, in turn, continues to recruit more people, the Observatory added.

The opposition site Horan Free League wrote that Akrad and his companions were killed on Wednesday on the Damascus-Daraa international highway while on their way back from Damascus where they held talks with members of the Syrian regime to demand the bodies of the members of the “Free Army” who died in the battle of the abandoned battalion in the central countryside of Daraa several years ago.