Syria security forces disperse rival protests in Damascus
Syrian security forces on Sunday fired in the air to disperse rival protests after pro-government demonstrators clashed with a gathering mourning dead civilians, following the reported mass killings of Alawites.
The incident came after deadly violence in Syria's Alawite heartland that saw hundreds killed, according to a war monitor, in attacks targeting the religious minority or in clashes between security forces and armed groups loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad.
Activists had called for a silent protest in Damascus "to mourn the souls of the civilians and the martyrs among the security forces".
Dozens gathered for the demonstration, some raising signs saying "Syrian lives are not cheap", before they were confronted by counter-protesters who chanted anti-Alawite slogans and called for a "Sunni Muslim state".
About 200 protesters had gathered in total on both sides, AFP journalists said.
Physical altercations broke out between the demonstrators, before security forces intervened and dispersed them, firing gunshots into the air.
"We were slaughtered for 14 years and we didn't hear a word from you," one of the counter-protesters was heard shouting before the demonstrations broke up.
A woman from the original demonstration responded, calling on them to settle "your score with Assad, we have nothing to do with his crimes".
Bilal Abdullah, 37, said he joined that demonstration "to mourn the souls of the martyrs among the general security and the army, as well as the civilians who were killed recently on the coast and in the countryside".
Clashes erupted on Thursday between the new security forces and gunmen loyal to Assad, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday reporting 231 members of the security forces and 250 pro-Assad fighters killed.
The Observatory also said security forces and allied groups killed 830 Alawite civilians in the provinces of Latakia and Tartus.
The violence is the fiercest since Islamist-led rebels toppled Assad on December 8 following a lightning offensive.
bur/jsa/it
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hegseth reportedly orders ‘passive approach to Juneteenth' at Pentagon
The office of the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, requested 'a passive approach to Juneteenth messaging', according to an exclusive Rolling Stone report citing a Pentagon email. This messaging request for Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, was transmitted by the Pentagon's office of the chief of public affairs. This office said it was not poised to publish web content related to Juneteenth, Rolling Stone said. The mandate comes amid Donald Trump's attack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government, including the US military, which Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has enthusiastically executed. 'The President's guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense,' Hegseth said in a January post on X. 'The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays,' Hegseth also wrote. He posted an apparently hand-written note that read 'DOD ≠ DEI.' Hegseth has continued to espouse anti-DEI talking points, claiming without evidence that these policies put military service members in harm's way. In prepared testimony to a Senate hearing this week, Rolling Stone noted, Hegseth said: 'DEI is dead. We replaced it with a color-blind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach, and the force is responding incredibly.' In response to Rolling Stone's request for comment, the Pentagon said that the Department of Defense 'may engage in the following activities, subject to applicable department guidance: holiday celebrations that build camaraderie and esprit de corps; outreach events (eg, recruiting engagements with all-male, all-female, or minority-serving academic institutions) where doing so directly supports DoD's mission; and recognition of historical events and notable figures where such recognition informs strategic thinking, reinforces our unity, and promotes meritocracy and accountability'. Asked for comment by the Guardian, a defense spokesperson said: 'We have nothing additional to provide on this.' President Joe Biden in 2021 made 19 June a federal holiday. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery in the midst of the civil war. Related: Students at Pentagon schools sue Hegseth over book bans on race and gender It was not until this date in 1865 that enslaved Black persons in Galveston, Texas, were told about Lincoln's decree. While Robert E Lee had surrendered that April, some supporters of the Confederacy continued to fight. Trump signed an executive order in January that eliminated DEI in the military. He also appeared to sound off on DEI initiatives in an address to graduating West Point cadets on 24 May. 'They subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes, while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries' wars. We fought for other countries' borders but we didn't fight for our own borders, but now we do like we have never fought before,' Trump said. He also stated 'the job of the US armed forces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures', an apparent allusion to drag shows on US military installations. Biden's defense department ended drag shows on military bases in 2023 amid Republican criticism.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israeli building hit in wave of drone attacks: rescue services
Israel's rescue services said Saturday that an Iranian drone had struck a residential building in the north of the country following a wave of attacks reported by the military. "A drone strike hit a two-storey residential building in northern Israel", the Magen David Adom said in a statement, referring to an impact site in the Beit She'an valley by the northeastern border with Jordan. Israel's sophisticated air defences have intercepted more than 450 missiles fired at the country by Iran, along with around 400 drones, since the start of the war on June 13, according to official figures. The locations of strikes in Israel are subject to strict military censorship rules and are not always provided in detail to the public. The National Public Diplomacy Directorate, which is overseen by Israel's prime minister, has acknowleged 50 impact sites. At least 19 people were injured in Haifa on Friday following a strike on a building by the city's docks. The northern Israeli port has been frequently targeted along with coastal hub Tel Aviv and southern Beersheba. AFP photographs from the scene of the drone strike in Beit She'an on Saturday showed a hole torn in the side of the building next to a crater and mounds of earth that appeared to have been thrown up by the drone's explosives. Magen David Adom said its rescue teams found no visible casualties as they arrived at the scene. In separate statements, the Israeli military reported several drones had been sighted and intercepted at locations in northern Israel mid-morning on Saturday after a barrage of 40 drones overnight. A total of 25 people have been killed in Israel since the start of the war, according to official figures. lba-adp/dcp
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Malaysia's Dayaks mark rice harvest end with colourful parade
Dressed in colourful costumes, some sporting feathered headgear and traditional swords, several thousand of Malaysia's ethnic Dayak people paraded in the streets of Sarawak state on Borneo island Saturday to celebrate the ending of the rice harvest season. The Gawai Dayak 2025 Parade in state capital Kuching is the only annual gathering by representatives of around 11 of Sarawak's main Dayak groups -- which participants said helps to keep alive a unique part of the Southeast Asian nation's culture. Marchers gathered from early Saturday under the blistering tropical sun, many of them travelling long distances by bus to walk in the parade along the banks of the Sarawak River. "This gathering is something that is very important to me," said Joel Zacchaeus Anak Ebi, sporting the traditional Iban headgear worn by one of Borneo's best-known tribes. People "must know and realise that Sarawak has traditions and cultures that must be preserved," he told AFP ahead of the march, which was also attended by Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Tun Openg. "A day like this brings our people together, especially the younger people, who can easily lose touch with their roots when they move away from Sarawak," said Dayak village elder Ngindang Rambo, 61. Watching the parade, Masha Timosha, 34, a tour guide from Russia, said she was amazed by the costumes and atmosphere. "This is just very impressive. I even have my own Sarawakian costume but I didn't put it on," she told AFP. Malaysia's Dayak people are mainly riverine and hill-dwelling, made up of dozens of ethnic groups, each with their own distinct dialect, customs, laws and practices. Dayak communities however have become increasingly under threat from encroaching palm oil forestry and industrial logging, human rights groups and Indigenous groups have said. Many Indigenous communities in Sarawak face challenges in accessing basic services, Human Rights Watch said in a statement last month, including access to running water, electricity and land titles. Local groups and international observers have also called on the government to "urgently legislate Indigenous customs and traditions through which Indigenous people have acquired rights to their lands, territories and resources," the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) said last year. Rainforest-clad Borneo is the world's third-largest island and is shared between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. jhe/jfx
