Girl injured in armed attack on UN convoy departing from Sweida to Damascus

A UN convoy transporting staff and civilians from Sweida to Damascus was subjected to an armed attack and serious incidents of intimidation while passing through Daraa. A girl was seriously injured, and the convoy subsequently disintegrated.

The convoy departed yesterday from the UN headquarters in the Qusour neighborhood of Sweida city and included UN and Syrian Red Crescent vehicles. Upon reaching the administrative border with Daraa, the UN vehicles abruptly withdrew, leaving the route to be completed by civilian buses.

At this point, according to the Syrian Observatory, "religious figures and official media affiliated with the transitional government were present and attempted to portray the scene as a 'displacement of Christians' from Sweida, even though the majority of the passengers were UN employees."

As the convoy entered Daraa, armed groups linked to the transitional government and members of the General Security forces, along with vehicles tinted with ISIS logos, spread out and terrorized the passengers. In the Izraa area, some buses were stopped and armed men boarded, directly threatening the passengers. Some were allowed to pass after checking their identities.

Around the Daraa roundabout, one of the buses came under direct fire, seriously wounding a civilian girl in the neck. As a result of these attacks, the convoy disintegrated, and most passengers were forced to continue their journey to Lebanon by alternative means of transportation.

Sh-S

ANhA