A member of the Fourth Division lost their life, and several members of the Syrian regime’s Special Forces brigade sustained injuries earlier this week during clashes between these two groups in Masaken Barzeh, located to the north of Damascus.
The conflict erupted on Saturday evening, when a Special Forces checkpoint refused passage to a group associated with the Fourth Division, citing the presence of a Special Forces headquarters in the area and asserting that the Fourth Division members were unofficial. The Sowt al-Asima website reported that members of the Fourth Division physically assaulted and verbally abused the lieutenant in charge of the checkpoint in front of both their fellow members and civilians passing by. This led the checkpoint personnel to open fire on the Fourth Group, resulting in the immediate fatality of one of its members.
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The confrontations, which ended with the intervention of Special Forces supporters and the expulsion of the Fourth Group, resulted in injuries to some of the checkpoint members, according to the same source.
In the aftermath of the clashes, officers from the Fourth Security Office requested during a meeting on Sunday morning, that Maj. Gen. Mueen al-Qayyim, the commander of the Special Forces, surrendered the checkpoint members for accountability at the Military Police Branch of the Fourth Division.
The source mentioned that Maj. Gen. Qayyim declined the Fourth Security Office’s demands, instead referring the dispute to Major General Asef al-Daker, the commander of the Military Police, as it is the responsible body for handling and resolving such disputes.
As per the source, the trustee committed not to apprehend any of the participants in the clashes and pledged to refer all parties involved to the military judiciary to conclude the case.
While the Syrian regime’s media remained silent on the matter, Mohammed al-Helou, the correspondent of the Ministry of Interior of the regime, posted on his Facebook account, reassuring the public that the sounds heard in the neighbourhoods of Barzeh and Qaboun “do not indicate a security breach.”
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.
