Prominent Syria Opposition Leader Assassinated In Daraa

Syrian sheikh and opposition leader Fadi al-Asimy. Via Twitter.

On August 16, prominent sheikh and opposition leader Fadi al-Asimy was assassinated in the southern Syrian governorate of Daraa.

Al-Asimy was reportedly shot and killed by a squad of assassins who were moving in a car and a motorcycle near a fuel station located in the outskirts of the town of Dael in the northern Daraa countryside. The assassins managed to flee the scene.

Opposition activists in Daraa accused the Syrian intelligence of assassinating al-Asimy who was a top leader of A large rebel group known as the Revolution Army before the 2018 reconciliation agreement. He was also a member of the religious Reform Committee and the Revolution Command Council in Daraa.

Al-Aismy was arrested by Syrian security forces after the reconciliation agreement. However, he was released within a few months. Later, he began taking parts in talks with the government to resolve different issues in Daraa. Using his influence, he helped broker several agreements with the government and even facilitated talks with Russia. Due to this, it is very unlikely that he was assassinated by the Syrian intelligence.

It is more likely that al-Aismy was assassinated by ISIS. The terrorist group has already targeted a number of opposition leaders in Daraa. ISIS general leader in southern Syria, Abu Salem al-Iraqi, and his top military aid, Abu Omar Al-Jababi, who were recently eliminated by the Syrian intelligence, were both behind many similar assassinations.

Overall, the situation in Daraa remains unstable. Without real cooperation and coordination between the government and former rebels, the governorate can’t be stabilized.

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