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Activists, who have been taking to the streets to call for
President Bashar al-Assad to step down over worsening living
conditions, accused members of the ruling Ba'ath party of firing
the shots. Reuters could not independently confirm this.
In a video posted online by the Sweida24 activist collective,
men could be seen running away from the entrance of a building
as around two dozen gunshots were heard.
The caption identified the building as the local headquarters
for the Ba'ath party and said protesters had been trying to
close it down. Demonstrators temporarily forced its closure in
late August.
Sweida24 said three people had been wounded and were being
treated at hospitals.
Conflict erupted in Syria in 2011 with rallies against Assad in
the country's south and quickly morphed into an all-out war that
has left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced millions.
Assad recaptured most of the country with help from his allies
Russia and Iran. Even with frontlines calmer, the country's
economy remained in tatters and its humanitarian needs
skyrocketed.
Still, open criticism of the government was extremely rare in
Assad-held areas until the government's decision to lift fuel
subsidies last month prompted fresh protests concentrated in
Sweida.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut and Suleiman al-Khalidi in
Amman; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Potter)
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