17 Jul 2025 10:22 AM Salam and Jumblatt Urge Restraint to Avert Strife
The Prime Minister praised Jumblatt's efforts, along with those of other prominent figures across various regions, to prevent internal strife that could threaten the country's stability and its path toward restoring state authority, which remains the reference for all Lebanese.
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Nahar Net
20 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
Syria's Druze fear for their future after sectarian clashes
Before the eruption of sectarian violence in southern Syria, Saber Abou Ras taught medical sciences at a university in the city of Sweida and was somewhat hopeful of a better future for his country as it emerged from nearly 14 years of civil war. Now, like many others in the Druze-majority city in southern Syria, he carries arms and refuses to give them up to the government. He sees little hope for the united Syria he recently thought was in reach. "We are for national unity, but not the unity of terrorist gangs," Abou Ras, a Druze, told The Associated Press in a phone call from the battered city. Clashes broke out last week that were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters with the Druze religious minority. The violence killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. Syrian government forces intervened to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Disturbing videos and reports soon surfaced of Druze civilians being humiliated and executed, sometimes accompanied by sectarian slurs. One showed gunmen in military uniform asking an unarmed man about his identity. When he replies that he is Syrian, the gunmen demand, "What do you mean Syrian? Are you Sunni or Druze?" When the man says he is Druze, the men open fire, killing him. Hossam Saraya, a Syrian-American Druze from Oklahoma, was shown in another video, kneeling with his brother, father, and at least three other relatives, before a group of men in military garb sprayed them with automatic fire and celebrated. A religious sect with roots in Islam The Druze religious sect is an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Outsiders are not allowed to convert, and most religious practices are shrouded in secrecy. There are roughly a million Druze worldwide and more than half of them live in Syria. The others live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Though a small community within Syria's population of more than 20 million, Sweida's Druze take pride in their involvement in liberating the country from Ottoman and later French colonial rule, and establishing the present-day Syrian state. During the uprising-turned-civil war that started in 2011, Druze leaders reached a fragile agreement with former President Bashar Assad that gave Sweida semi-autonomy, leaving the minority group to protect its own territory instead of serving in the Syrian military. Most Druze celebrated Assad's fall The Druze largely welcomed the fall of Assad in December in a rebel offensive that ended decades of autocratic rule by the Assad dynasty. The Druze were largely skeptical of the Islamist background of Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, especially as he once led the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. But many, including influential clerics, supported diplomatically engaging with the new leadership. Among those more hostile towards al-Sharaa is spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and a faction of Druze militias called the Sweida Military Council. There were intense divisions between them and others in the Druze community for months. Previous clashes between Druze armed groups and government forces were resolved before the violence could escalate. A security agreement was reached between the Druze and Damascus in May that was intended to bring about long-term calm. But the recent clashes and sectarian attacks in Sweida have upset that balance, and many Druze appear to have lost hope in reaching a fair settlement diplomatically. Sectarian violence after the fall of Assad Many Druze see the government's attacks as an extension of a wave of sectarian violence that broke out months ago on Syria's coast. Clashes between the new government's forces and Assad loyalists spiraled into revenge killings targeting members of the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs. A government investigation into the coastal violence found that more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, and that members of the security forces were implicated in the attacks. The difference in Sweida, as Abou Ras, the Druze medical sciences professor, sees it, is that the Druze had their own armed factions that were able to fight back. "They talked about respecting minorities and the different components of Syria," he said. "But what happened at the coast was a hard lesson for Syrians, and we learned from it." The interim president denies that Druze are being targeted After the violence in Sweida, Al-Sharaa vowed to hold perpetrators to account, and restated his promises since taking power that he will not exclude Syria's minority groups. He and other officials have insisted that they are not targeting the Druze, but armed factions that are challenging state authority, namely those led by al-Hijri. Al-Sharaa also accused Israel of trying to exacerbate divisions in the country by launching airstrikes on government forces in the province, which Israel said was in defense of the Druze. The tensions have already created new challenges to forging national unity. Other minority groups — particularly the Kurdish forces controlling Syria's northeast, who have been in negotiations with Damascus to merge with the new national army — are reconsidering surrendering their weapons after seeing the violence in Sweida. A Syrian Druze who lived abroad for over 20 years was in Syria when Assad fell and celebrated with friends and family on the streets of Sweida. He quit his job to move back and be involved with the community. He joined in with people who waved Syria's new flag that symbolized the uprising, danced, and stepped on torn portraits of Assad. He said he wanted al-Sharaa to be successful, but now he doesn't see a peaceful future for Syria's different ethnic and religious groups with him at the helm. "In every household (in Sweida), someone has died," he told the AP. The Associated Press could not confirm that independently as there was no official death toll. However, it was a sentiment frequently shared by Syrians from Sweida. He asked to have his name and other identifying details withheld out of fear for his and his family's safety. "I think after the massacres that happened, there is not a single person in Sweida that wants anything to do with this government, unfortunately," he said. "This government butchered people, and butchered any possibility to (bring) reconciliation and harmonize the south."
LBCI
9 hours ago
- LBCI
US envoy links country's support to Lebanon enforcing state control over weapons — statement
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack reaffirmed Washington's firm stance on Hezbollah during a recent visit to Beirut, underscoring that the issue of the group's weapons remains a Lebanese responsibility. 'Hezbollah is an issue that must be resolved by the Lebanese themselves,' Barrack said in a statement, reiterating that the United States believes Hezbollah poses a challenge that only Lebanon's government can confront. He stressed that Washington stands ready to support Lebanon if its leaders commit to enforcing the state's exclusive right to bear arms, emphasizing that 'only the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has the constitutional authority to operate within its borders.' Echoing U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's stance, Barrack highlighted the American goal of seeing 'a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah.' The envoy also made clear that Washington draws no line between Hezbollah's political and military wings. While recognizing the LAF as 'the sole legitimate national military institution and a pillar of Lebanon's sovereignty,' Barrack called on Lebanese leaders and the army to show 'resolve and political will' to 'seize a new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah,' quoting U.S. President Donald Trump. He concluded by affirming U.S. support: 'On that path, the United States will stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Lebanon.' During my recent visit to Beirut, I stated that Hizballah is 'an issue that must be resolved by the Lebanese themselves,' reaffirming a long-standing position of the United States — that Hizballah represents a challenge which only the Lebanese government can address. The United… — Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) July 24, 2025
L'Orient-Le Jour
9 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Salam says he feels 'reassured' after meeting Macron in Paris
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, as part of the premier's first official visit to France since his appointment in January. In a message posted on X following the meeting, Salam said he felt "reassured" by his exchanges with the French president. "I thank France for its constant support for Lebanon, its security, its sovereignty and its prosperity. I am returning to Beirut reassured by President Macron's commitments on aid to Lebanon, the renewal of UNIFIL, and the strengthening of our bilateral ties in the areas of security, the economy, education and culture," he wrote. According to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent, discussions focused on bilateral cooperation between Lebanon and France in administrative, financial and judicial matters, as well as on reforms undertaken by Beirut in these sectors. The ongoing institutional crisis in Lebanon, as well as security tensions in the south of the country, were at the heart of the talks, in particular coordination between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL, in a context in which Israeli strikes and incursions have continued on an almost daily basis in southern Lebanon, despite the cease-fire that came into effect in Lebanon on Nov. 24, 2024, ending the war between Hezbollah and Israel. The effects of a recent episode of intercommunal violence in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida in southern Syria were also discussed. Relations between Beirut and Damascus, with an emphasis on ongoing efforts to encourage the return of Syrian refugees to their country, were also addressed. Salam confirmed during an exchange with journalists at the Lebanese embassy that a new Franco-Lebanese conference is to be held soon, ahead of future international meetings aimed at mobilizing aid for Lebanon. An international aid conference for Lebanon was organized in Paris in October 2024 during the previous autumn war. According to a statement issued the previous day by the French presidency, the "strengthening of the Lebanese armed forces" as well as "the consequences of the war in Iran" and the situation in the Gaza Strip were also on the agenda. The Élysée referred to "the imperative of a complete cessation of hostilities in the region to protect civilians and the absolute urgency of massive, unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip." Meanwhile, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was also in Paris on Thursday to meet French officials and discuss, among other topics, the Iranian issue, according to four sources cited by Reuters. American envoy Tom Barrack concluded his visit to Beirut on Wednesday by calling on Lebanese authorities to fully assume their responsibilities on the Hezbollah disarmament issue. Since the cease-fire, which went into effect last Nov. 27, the Israeli army has carried out almost daily strikes against Lebanon, mainly in the south and the Bekaa. These attacks have so far killed more than 270 people.
