SOHR: Two dead at protest in southern Syria

Security forces shot dead two protesters on Sunday in Syria´s southern city of Sweida as hundreds held a rare demonstration against deteriorating living conditions, a war monitor and a local news outlet said.

Tensions were high in the regime-held city after some protesters threw rocks at a government building and stormed it, taking down a large picture of President Bashar al-Assad from its facade, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “At least two protesters were killed” when security forces opened fire after protesters entered the building, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Rayan Maarouf, an activist from local news outlet Suwayda24, confirmed the death and said four others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds in the Druze-majority city. Suwayda24 posted images on social media that showed protesters chanting slogans calling for the fall of the regime as security forces stood guard outside the building.