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العربية
No wedding, success celebration, or happy occasion in Deir Ezzor or its countryside is complete without gunfire. However, this custom often turns into a tragedy due to painful incidents resulting from random gunfire, which instills fear among residents.
At every wedding or celebration, some people fire bullets as an expression of joy, under traditional customs. However, this practice often leads to injuries and deaths, turning joy into sadness and grief over the loss of life.
With the recurrence of these incidents, human losses and injuries are renewed, in addition to panic attacks that afflict residents. In this regard, young Hamza al-Nasser recounted to DeirEzzor24 Network an incident he witnessed on the evening of Thursday, April 24, when several cars celebrating a wedding passed by, carrying people firing guns on Port Said Street.
Hamza said, “About half an hour after the evening prayer, my friends and I cleaned the Al-Orfi Mosque garden. Suddenly, a bullet hit an iron pole and fell to the ground less than a meter away from me. I was almost injured, but thank God I survived, while others were not so lucky. Only God knows.”
The tragedies are not limited to the city; they are exacerbated in the countryside, where this custom is widely practiced during celebrations. The most recent incident occurred in the town of Gharanij in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, where two children lost their lives due to gunfire during an engagement party.
Random gunfire has become a source of concern for residents. It remains widespread throughout the governorate, despite Public Security decisions imposing large fines and imprisonment on those who fire a gun, and despite occasional community initiatives.