(Beirut) At least 17 people were killed Sunday in clashes between rival groups in the southern province of Deraa in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) announced, the day after the death of a group of children in an explosion.
Deraa was the birthplace of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but returned to Damascus control in 2018 under a Russian-backed ceasefire deal.
Since then, the province has been plagued by a wave of homicides and clashes and living conditions are precarious.
According to the OSDH, an individual identified as Ahmad al-Labbad, who “leads an armed group”, was accused by a rival group of having planted an explosive device which exploded on Saturday in Sanamayn province, killing eight children.
Ahmad al-Labbad, who previously worked for State Security, denied the accusations, according to the NGO, which is based in the United Kingdom but has a vast network of sources in Syria.
On Sunday, this rival group, led by an individual who “formerly belonged to the Islamic State (IS) group and who now works for the military intelligence services” of the Damascus government, stormed part of Sanamayn and unleashed clashes with Ahmad al-Labbad’s group, said the OSDH.
The fighting left 17 dead, including a former member of ISIS, three members of the Labbad family and twelve of its fighters, as well as a civilian killed by a stray bullet, according to the same source, specifying that the Clashes continue Sunday afternoon.
The NGO had reported 12 deaths in a previous report.
Syrian state media did not immediately report violence.
The official Sana news agency, citing a police source, provided a different toll for Saturday’s explosion which it blamed on “terrorists”, saying seven children had been killed.
Attacks, armed clashes and assassinations of loyalists, former opponents or even civilians working for the government regularly take place in Deraa province.
IS jihadists claim attacks there.
Former rebels in Daraa province, who accepted a deal sponsored by Russia, Damascus’ main ally, were able to keep their light weapons.
At the end of January, eight fighters affiliated with IS, including a local leader, were killed during clashes with local factions, according to the OSDH.
Started in 2011, the war in Syria has left more than 507,000 dead and displaced millions.