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Syria urges all parties to respect ceasefire in Druze region after hundreds left dead

Syria urges all parties to respect ceasefire in Druze region after hundreds left dead

CBC19-07-2025
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Syria's Islamist-led government said its security forces were deploying in the predominantly Druze southern city of Sweida on Saturday, and urged all parties to respect a ceasefire after days of factional bloodshed that has left hundreds dead.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a separate speech, said "Arab and American" mediation had helped bring calm, and criticized Israel for airstrikes against Syrian government forces in the south and Damascus this week.
Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, which began with clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, before Damascus sent in government security forces.
Israel has carried out airstrikes in southern Syria and on the Defence Ministry in Damascus, saying it is protecting the Druze minority, of whom there are a significant number in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
WATCH | Israeli strike on Syrian defence building captured on live TV this week:
Israeli strike on Syrian defence building captured on live TV
2 days ago
A TV news anchor in Syria was on air when an Israeli strike hit the Ministry of Defence in Damascus on Wednesday, badly damaging the building near the presidential palace.
In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, and urged all parties to end hostilities immediately.
The Interior Ministry said internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida.
Sharaa called for calm and said Syria would not be a "testing ground for partition, secession or sectarian incitement."
"The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability," he said in a televised speech.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbours.
Barrack, who is both U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Washington's Syria envoy, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons "and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity."
Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities and weaponry in the seven months since Sharaa's forces toppled President Bashar al-Assad, and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarized.
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Two Israeli rights groups say their country is committing genocide in Gaza
Two Israeli rights groups say their country is committing genocide in Gaza

CTV News

time4 hours ago

  • CTV News

Two Israeli rights groups say their country is committing genocide in Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel — Two prominent Israeli rights groups on Monday said their country is committing genocide in Gaza, the first time that local Jewish-led organizations have made such accusations against Israel during nearly 22 months of war. The claims by B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel add to an explosive debate over whether Israel's military offensive in Gaza - launched in response to Hamas' deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage - amounts to genocide. The Palestinians, their supporters and international human rights groups make that claim, and the International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel. But in Israel, founded in the wake of the Holocaust, even the government's strongest critics have largely refrained from making such accusations. 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Their claims echoed those of previous reports from international rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Like other rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have not been allowed into Gaza during the war. Their reports are based on testimonies, documents, eyewitnesses and consultations with legal experts. Hamas' attack on Israel that started the war sparked a shift in the country's policy toward Palestinians in Gaza from 'repression and control to destruction and annihilation,' B'Tselem said. The group has long been outspoken about Israel's treatment of Palestinians. It halted cooperation with the military nearly a decade ago, saying the army's investigations into wrongdoing weren't serious, and it has accused Israel of being an apartheid state. 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Why Cambodia and Thailand were involved in a decades-long, deadly dispute
Why Cambodia and Thailand were involved in a decades-long, deadly dispute

National Post

time5 hours ago

  • National Post

Why Cambodia and Thailand were involved in a decades-long, deadly dispute

Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following days of deadly border clashes, the latest flashpoint in a decades-long territorial dispute. Article content The truce was brokered under the mediation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The agreement comes after fighting between the two countries' forces left at least 35 people dead, including civilians, and displaced thousands near the disputed frontier. Article content Article content Article content Article content Tensions first escalated in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash of cross-border firing. Article content Since then, both countries have put border restrictions on one another, with Cambodia banning imports like fruits and vegetables from Thailand, as well as stopping the import of power and internet services. Thailand stopped almost all crossing over the border, apart from a few cases. Article content Article content In recent weeks, both countries also increased military presences alongside the borders. Article content Last Thursday, Thailand claimed that at 7:35 a.m., Cambodia's military deployed drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops near the border. Cambodia allegedly opened fire alongside the border at 8:20 a.m., prompting Thailand to retaliate. Thai authorities also accused Cambodia of using heavy weaponry that caused damage to homes and public facilities. Article content Cambodia, however, provided a different story to what happened. They claimed that Thai troops crossed into a disputed area near a temple at 6:30 a.m. and installed barbed wire. They then flew a drone around 7 a.m. and fired warning shots at 8:30, before launching a pre-emptive strike at 8:46, using excessive force, according to Cambodian officials. Article content Article content What followed was five days of fighting along the border that left many injured and displaced. Article content Article content The two countries share a land border stretching over 800 kilometres, a region that has seen repeated flare-ups. The dispute largely traces back to a 1907 map drawn during French colonial rule, which Cambodia uses to support its claims to territory. Thailand, however, argues the map is inaccurate and does not reflect the legitimate boundary. Article content After deadly skirmishes in 2011 that left about 20 people dead and forced thousands to flee, Cambodia returned to the ICJ, and in 2013, the court reaffirmed its earlier ruling. Article content

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