Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
February 21, 2022
The Assad regime continues with the arrests, assassinations and kidnappings in Dara’a province and southern Syria with the aim of spreading chaos, instability and suppressing the revolution in the south.
Southern Syria is witnessing an upsurge in assassinations targeting influential civilian personalities, former fighters and commanders of the Free Syrian Army. These assassinations have been ongoing for years on an almost daily basis in the region.
The Assad regime escalated the wave of assassinations in Dara’a in the past few months to coincide with the popular uprising in Al-Suwayda province. The regime aims to dispose of prominent members of the Central Committee in Houran, revolutionary activists, and former fighters and commanders of the FSA who were forced to agree to reach settlements with so-called Russian guarantees.
In addition to the assassinations, the regime detained and executed hundreds of former FSA fighters and dissident activists who agreed to settle their status with the regime in 2018. This confirms the treacherous nature of the Assad regime and Russia, and that Russia cannot be trusted whatsoever. Russia walked out on and violated all agreements since the start of its direct military aggression against Syria in 2015.
Despite the so-called settlements that many of Daraa’s residents agreed to sign under duress, the revolutionary movement and demonstrations did not stop as the people of Dara’a continue to reject the regime’s authority. The regime responded by targeting whoever involved in the revolutionary movement and by attempting to sow discord between the peoples of southern Syria.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) calls upon the people, revolutionaries, and tribes of Dara’a to unify their ranks and confront the Assad regime’s attempts to sow sedition and suppress the revolutionary movement in southern Syria. It is imperative to show more solidarity and rally around the community leaders. Dara’a, the birthplace of the revolution, will remain immune to the conspiracies of the Assad regime and its enablers. It will also remain at the forefront of the revolutionary action and the struggle against tyrants.
The SOC calls on the international community to support the Syrian revolutionary movement which has been ongoing for nearly eleven years by supporting a genuine political transition in accordance with UN Resolution 2254, and by ensuring accountability for war criminals, chief among them is the head of the Syrian regime.
