Syrian monitor says 4 Druze fighters killed in clash with security forces
Restoring and maintaining security remains one of the most pressing challenges for Syria's new authorities. (EPA Images pic)
DAMASCUS : A Syrian war monitor today said at least four Druze fighters were killed in clashes with security forces loyal to the Islamist government who stormed a Damascus suburb.
The incident follows a wave of sectarian bloodshed last month, the worst since Islamist-led forces overthrew long-time president Bashar al-Assad in December, with massacres taking place largely in the Alawite coastal heartland over several days.
'Heavy clashes erupted in Jaramana after security forces and affiliated gunmen stormed' areas of the mostly Druze and Christian suburb, after 'the circulation of an audio recording, attributed to a Druze citizen, containing religious insults', said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said at least four Druze fighters were killed.
A local news outlet meanwhile reported five local residents had been killed.
The suburb is also home to families displaced by Syria's civil conflict which erupted in 2011.
A Jaramana resident, requesting anonymity due to safety concerns, said the overnight clashes in one area of the suburb lasted around half an hour and were followed by intermittent gunfire and shelling.
'We were trapped in our homes as the sound of intermittent gunfire continued. The children have not gone to school and the streets of our neighbourhood are empty this morning,' the resident added.
Jaramana's Druze religious leadership in a statement condemned 'the unjustified armed attack' that 'targeted innocent civilians and terrorised' residents.
It said that the Syrian authorities bore 'full responsibility for the incident and for any further developments or worsening of the crisis'.
An interior ministry statement early today emphasised 'the importance of adhering to public order and not being drawn into any behaviour… that would disrupt public security or threaten people or property'.
'Work is ongoing to identify' the individual behind the audio recording 'in order to bring them to justice'.
Tensions began in Jaramana in late February with a fatal shooting at a checkpoint, followed a day later by clashes between security forces and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area, according to the observatory.
Security forces deployed in the area in early March.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz at that time warned the new Islamist-led authorities not 'to harm the Druze' minority, which is also spread across Lebanon and Israel.
Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the most pressing challenges for the new authorities after Assad's overthrow.
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