Gangs of Nusra kill Druze villagers
NEWS DESK (DİHA) - At least 20 Druze villagers have been shot dead by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front in north-western Syria, activist and opposition groups say.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said elderly people and a child were among those killed in Qalb Lawzah in Idlib province on Wednesday afternoon. The group is part of a rebel alliance that has taken control of much of Idlib in the past three months, ousting government forces from the provincial capital.
The Syrian Observatory, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that Wednesday's shooting occurred after a Tunisian al-Nusra commander tried to confiscate a house belonging to a Druze man who he claimed was loyal to the Syrian government. Relatives of the house's owner protested and tried to stop the commander.
The dispute soon turned violent and a villager was shot dead before another seized the rifle of an al-Nusra fighter and opened fire, killing one of the jihadists, the Syrian Observatory said. Reinforcements were called in by the commander and at least 20 villagers were shot, it added.
The main Western-backed opposition alliance, the National Coalition, condemned the incident, which it said had left "dozens of Druze men" dead.
(nt)
