A Russian forces army patrol reportedly killed a child with disabilities, Abdul Aziz Khalil Al-Hajar, 17 or 16 years old, by gunfire, in the Al Jura neighbourhood of Deir Ezzor on December 9th 2021, in the evening.

Euphrates reported that Abdul Al-Hajar was sitting next to the “Quba Mosque” and that the “patrolmen treated him as a suicide bomber because of the uniform he was wearing, known as the “skull.”” Euphrates also reported that he was wearing an abaya (a winter fur) – but as Deir Ezzor 24 News reported, the patrol members accused him of wearing a suicide vest. According to a local source, @Sada_AlSharqieh, one of the Russian patrol saw the young man filming the Russian forces, and shot him “directly for fear of having any weapons with him.”

Euphrates reported that the Russian patrol “ran him over with a car after he was killed.” Deir Ezzor 24 News added that they also beat him and dragged his body to a security branch. Other local sources corroborate this, saying that his body was tied to one of the military vehicles.

Abdul Al-Hajar was from Subikhan in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.

@Sada_AlSharqieh reported on Twitter that “the city is witnessing a great security alert, fearing the people’s reaction to the incident.”  Aramme News also reported that “the killing comes amid popular anger in Deir Ezzor governorate for weeks, after Russian patrols tried to pass through the governorate, which was completely rejected by the people.”