Protesters Storm Governor's Office in Southern Syria; 2 Killed

Protests in Syria's Druze-majority Suwayda province on Sunday left one protester and a police officer dead and seven others injured.

People stormed the governor's office and burned files and official papers, according to the Syrian regime's media.

In a statement, the Syrian regime's Interior Minister revealed that the people who raided the building were armed and destroyed furniture, smashed windows, and looted files.

Earlier, more than 200 people gathered around the building in the center of the Druze-majority city, chanting slogans against the Syrian regime.

Three witnesses told Reuters that the governor was not in the building which was vacated before protesters stormed the offices.

"The governor's office was burnt completely from the inside," said Rayan Maarouf, a civic activist and editor of Suwayda 24, a local website that covers the southern region, who said several people were wounded in the exchange of gunshots.

"There was heavy gunfire," Maarouf told Reuters, saying it was not clear where the shooting came from in the heavily policed area.