Tensions high as fresh fighting flares up in Syria's Sweida
Damascus
Fighting has erupted in the Druze-majority Sweida province of southern Syria, violating a ceasefire deal reached last month after sectarian violence left hundreds dead, activists and state media reported on Sunday.
At least one person was killed and seven injured in renewed fighting between militias of the Druze minority and government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said on Sunday.
The state SANA news agency reported that 'lawless groups' with links to the Druze community violated the ceasefire by attacking a village with heavy weapons and mortar shells.
Fighting broke out last month in Sweida between Sunni Bedouin groups and members of the Druze community, a religious minority that emerged from Shiite Islam and live mainly in Syria, but also in Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan.
The Damascus government said it sent troops to calm the situation but its forces were accused of brutal acts of violence against the Druze.
Neighbouring Israel subsequently bombed targets in Syria with the stated aim of protecting the Druze.
The London-based SOHR, which has monitored the conflict in Syria for many years, counted around 1,400 fatalities.
Its figures, collected by a network of activists, are generally considered reliable.
The violence also resulted in a dire humanitarian situation and a mass exodus of civilians from the province, with UN figures suggesting that around 190,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.
More than half a year after the fall of long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad, the new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa has not succeeded in establishing stability in Syria.
There have been several major battles, terrorist attacks and violence, including against the Alawite minority on Syria's Mediterranean coast. There have also been isolated clashes in northern Syria in recent days.
The Defence Ministry in Damascus announced that its troops have prevented Kurdish militias from advancing near Manbij.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish militias, reportedly attacked a village with rockets and injured several people. The government troops responded with 'precise attacks,' the ministry said.
The SDF, on the other hand, accused the government troops of having 'attacked residential areas for no reason,' while their own forces defended themselves.
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