SOHR: At least two killed, seven injured in Syria after protesters storm governor’s office

Dozens of protesters in Syria’s southern city of Sweida stormed the governor’s office, on Sunday, over worsening economic conditions in the country. Subsequently, the demonstration turned violent and led to the death of a protester and a police officer while at least seven others were injured, according to reports.

Notably, anti-government protests are rare in Syria since President Bashar Assad took over more than a decade ago. A report by Reuters citing witnesses said that more than 200 people had gathered around the building in the Druze-majority province calling to overthrow the Syrian president amid worsening economic conditions, food security and the energy crisis the country is witnessing.

Subsequently, some people broke into the Sweida governorate building and burnt files and official papers, reported the Syrian state media. Meanwhile, the country’s Interior Minister in a statement said that those who raided the building were armed, destroyed windows and looted files. He also confirmed that at least one officer was killed following an attack by the protesters at a police station.

Three witnesses told Reuters that the governor was not in the building at the time of the attack and was evacuated before the protesters stormed the office. Furthermore, citing hospital sources the report also confirmed the death of one civilian from gunshot wounds. It added that another person is being treated after being shot.

“There is a large deployment of security forces in the area, and you can still hear gunshots,” said Rayan Maalouf, the head of the Suwayda 24 collective to the Associated Press. The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed that the police had fired ammunition at the protesters gathered.