Clashes between a pro-Damascus faction and local gunmen in the Druze-dominated As-Suwayda governorate in southern Syria resulted in the killing of 17 gunmen from both sides within two days, and “machines and presses for the manufacture of Captagon pills” were found, according to Syrian sources.
Clashes erupted on Tuesday in two villages north of As-Suwayda, the day following a kidnapping operation accused the local faction loyal to Damascus of being behind it. Yesterday, local armed groups, most notably the “Men of Dignity Movement”, stormed the military headquarters of the “Fajr Forces”, affiliated with the Military Security Service in the town of Attil and headed by Raji Falhout.
The official of the “Suwayda 24” network, Rayan Maarouf, told Asharq Al-Awsat that following violent clashes, since Tuesday morning, local groups took control of all the headquarters and points of the group cooperating with the security services, where Falhout and his group were holed up.
The network broadcast a video clip showing hundreds of residents of As-Suwayda gathering in a public square, to celebrate “the local factions were able to eliminate” the loyalist faction, which it described as a “gang”. And it reported that the local factions, when attacking one of the headquarters of the leader of the loyal faction, found “machines and presses for the manufacture of Captagon pills”, which were destroyed and burned, which was also confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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