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In Syria's Daraa, wave of kidnappings, killings threatens fragile balance

Residents of Daraa city are living in fear in light of increased assassinations and kidnappings often blamed on former rebels who reconciled with the government.

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A man walks past destroyed buildings in a rebel-held area of the southern city of Daraa, Syria, Nov. 6, 2017. — MOHAMAD ABAZEED/AFP via Getty Images

The three bodies were bloodied from apparent gunshot wounds and found dumped unceremoniously near a traffic circle. They belonged, residents would discover, to three young men from a former rebel-held neighborhood of Daraa city in southwestern Syria, where they had lived until their alleged kidnapping in early January.

Then, just four days later, another body appeared.

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