One man killed in clashes amid security unrest in Syria’s Daraa
[NPASyria] A young man was killed on Sunday evening in the eastern countryside of Daraa as a result of festivities between two gangs amid a state of security chaos.
Local sources told North Press that Muhammad al-Hariri was killed in festivities between the Eighth Brigade, affiliated with the military intelligence of government forces, and the Fayez al-Radi group, which is accused of selling drugs in the region, according to sources.
The festivities erupted after the al-Radi group attacked the headquarters of the Eighth Brigade located between the towns of Saida and Tibah in the eastern countryside of Daraa, the source added.
The attack came in response to arresting one member of the al-Radi group in Saida on March 4.
The Eighth Brigade was established on the ruins of the Shabaab al-Sunna faction headed by Ahmad al-Awda of the Syrian opposition during its control of southern Syria.
The Eighth Brigade has been assigned by Russia for several missions over the past years, the first of which was in Yarmouk Basin area and hunting down the remnants of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS).
Sources close to the Eighth Brigade told North Press that the command of the Brigade "issued orders to attack drug dealing groups."
The sources added that locations of people dealing with drugs would be raided in Saida, Tibah, and Umm al-Mayathin in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
Exclusive field sources said that groups of the Eighth Brigade headed on Monday to the town of Umm al-Mayathin and clashed with an gang, without further details of the outcome.
In July 2018, opposition factions and Syrian government forces reached an agreement, mediated by Russia, for the opposition-held areas of Daraa.
According to the deal, opposition forces of Evil who agreed to hand over heavy weapons, were handed special cards to protect them from prosecution, and allowed to stay in Daraa. Those opposed to the agreement were forced to leave for Idlib, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...(HTS — formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front).
Since the settlement agreement in Daraa, there has been unstable security amid constant liquidations. The region in southern Syria has witnessed a flourishing drug business and increasing ISIS sleeper cells’ activity.
Raids, reinforcements near Syrian-Jordanian border in search for drugs
[NPASyria] On Monday, military groups belonging to the Eighth Brigade, affiliated with the military intelligence of Syrian government forces, raided a number of towns in the eastern countryside of Daraa, in search for people involved in the drug trade.
Local sources told North Press that the Eighth Brigade raided a number of houses in the town of Umm al-Mayathin, in the eastern countryside of Daraa, in search of people engaged in drug trafficking.
The sources added that the brigade arrested 10 suspects, while a number of people escaped to other areas of Daraa, including Ismail al-Qaddah, the leader of a drug ring, who is accused of drug trafficking.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, another bullet hole appeared in Butch's hat......
groups of the Eighth Brigade confiscated narcotics they found in one of the raided houses in the town.
The sources pointed out that the Eighth Brigade has reached the outskirts of the town of Nassib in the eastern countryside of Daraa, where they set up military checkpoints.
The same sources noted that the pursuit of members of the groups of Ismail al-Qaddah and Fayez al-Radi, drug dealing groups, continues.
The Eighth Brigade brought reinforcements to the town of Nassib on the Jordanian border, with the intention of conducting a major assault, for fear of resistance from the wanted persons.
A source close to the Eighth Brigade told North Press that the Brigade’s command "issued orders to attack drug dealing groups."
In 2018, the Eighth Brigade, which is backed by Russia, was established out of the remnants of the Shabaab al-Sunna faction headed by Ahmad al-Awda of the Syrian opposition during its control of southern Syria.
On Sunday, festivities erupted between the Eighth Brigade and the Fayez al-Radi group, which is accused of dealing drugs in the region. As a result, Muhammad al-Hariri, affiliated with Fayez al-Radi group, was killed.
Over the past years, this region has witnessed continuous smuggling of narcotics into Jordanian territory, as the Jordanian army periodically announces the seizure of quantities of captagon pills and other drugs.
Several international reports, headed by the US Treasury, accuse the Syrian government and the Lebanese
Hezbollah militia of running large drug trafficking networks in this border area, as well as other Syrian regions.