TERRORISTS massacred 27 people in the east of Aleppo on Saturday after hundreds of civilians protested against the rebel blockade of exit routes.
Local sources and the Russian Defence Ministry — whose troops are monitoring humanitarian corridors — said militant machine-gunners and rooftop snipers opened fire on some 1,500 demonstrators.
They said 17 were killed at the scene, including two teenagers of 13 and 15, while dozens were injured. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the militants rounded up 10 more protesters and then executed them.
VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention


