The Shuja al-Ali gang, backed by the Fourth Division, kidnapped five Syrian women from Daraa Governorate in southern Syria as they attempted to enter Lebanon, prompting their families to threaten regime forces.
This operation follows the recent release of a family, including a mother and three children, from the same governorate, whom the gang had previously kidnapped.
Shuja al-Ali gang
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Shuja al-Ali gang kidnapped five women from the city of Nawa in the western countryside of Daraa. The incident occurred while they were attempting to enter Lebanon illegally from Syria, with the help of a smuggler, in the western countryside of Homs.
The Observatory noted that the gang transfers the kidnapped individuals to warehouses it controls in Syrian border villages with Lebanon, in the western countryside of Homs, and holds them until negotiations with their families for ransom payments are completed.
Local sources in Daraa told Al-Modon that the residents of Nawa gave regime forces a deadline to release the five women, threatening escalation if they were not released by Saturday.
The sources added that the Ali gang, supported by the Fourth Division led by Maher al-Assad, is active in border villages in the western countryside of Homs. This incident follows a similar one where the same gang kidnapped a family consisting of a mother and three children from the city of al-Sanamayn in the Daraa countryside. Despite local armed groups’ escalation efforts, including targeting regime military checkpoints, the people of al-Sanamayn were forced to pay a ransom of tens of millions for their release.
Meanwhile, a local armed group attacked a checkpoint belonging to Air Force Intelligence in the regime forces between the towns of Busr al-Harir and Nahta in the eastern countryside of Daraa on Saturday night/Sunday. Violent clashes ensued, involving medium and heavy machine guns. In response, regime forces targeted military units in the area and the plains surrounding the town of Nahta with artillery shells, mortars, and heavy machine guns.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
