At least 30 killed as Syrian government forces clash with militias
The violence, which erupted over the weekend, continued on Monday as government forces deployed to restore order were drawn into confrontations with local armed groups.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported a higher toll, stating that at least 50 people had died in the fighting, including two children and six members of the security forces.
The unrest began with a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings between members of the Druze religious minority and Sunni Bedouin clans.
According to the observatory, hostilities were triggered when Bedouin tribesmen set up a checkpoint, where they allegedly attacked and robbed a young Druze vegetable vendor.
That incident sparked retaliatory abductions on both sides.
"Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties," Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba told state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV, confirming that security forces entered the city early on Monday.
The Interior Ministry called the situation a dangerous escalation, blaming the deterioration in security on 'the absence of relevant official institutions,' which it said had deepened the chaos and hindered the local community's efforts to restore calm.
Israel and the Druze minority
The Israeli army also said on Monday that it had struck military tanks in southern Syria but gave no further details about the nature of the operation.
Israel has previously intervened in Syria in defence of the Druze minority.
In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters earlier this year in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement at the time that Israel 'will not allow the deployment of (Syrian government) forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.'
In Israel, Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces.
The Druze — an esoteric group that split from Ismaili Shi'ism in the 10th century — are concentrated in Sweida and in certain Damascus suburbs such as Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya.
During Syria's 14-year civil war, Druze factions formed their own militias and have remained largely self-governed.
Since the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the Druze have been divided on whether to reconcile with the new government in Damascus.
Earlier this year, some Druze groups clashed with security forces aligned with the current authorities.
The Syrian Observatory claimed that government forces had sided with the Bedouins in some confrontations, further complicating an already volatile local power dynamic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Thousands of Afghans win UK asylum after huge data breach
Defence Minister John Healey unveiled the scheme to parliament after the UK High Court on Tuesday lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. In February 2022, a spreadsheet containing the names and details of almost 19,000 Afghans who had asked to be relocated to Britain was accidentally leaked by a UK official just six months after Taliban fighters seized Kabul, Healey said. "This was a serious departmental error," Healey said, adding: "Lives may have been at stake." The previous Conservative government put in place a secret programme in April 2024 to help those "judged to be at the highest risk of reprisals by the Taliban", he said. Some 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have now been brought to Britain or are in transit under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route, at a cost of around £400 million ($535 million), Healey said. Applications from 600 more people have also been accepted, bringing the estimated total cost of the scheme to £850 million. They are among some 36,000 Afghans who have been accepted by Britain under different schemes since the August 2021 fall of Kabul. As Labour's opposition defence spokesman, Healey was briefed on the scheme in December 2023 but the Conservative government asked a court to impose a "super-injunction" banning any mention of it in parliament or by the press. When Labour came to power in July 2024, the scheme was in full swing but Healey said he had been "deeply uncomfortable to be constrained from reporting" to parliament. "Ministers decided not to tell parliamentarians at an earlier stage about the data incident, as the widespread publicity would increase the risk of the Taliban obtaining the dataset," he explained. 'No retribution' Healey set up a review of the scheme when he became defence minister in the new Labour government. This concluded there was "very little evidence of intent by the Taliban to conduct a campaign of retribution". The Afghan Response Route has now been closed, the minister said, apologising for the data breach which "should never have happened". He estimated the total cost of relocating people from Afghanistan to Britain at between £5.5 billion to £6 billion. Conservative party defence spokesman James Cartlidge also apologised for the leak which happened under the previous Tory government. But he defended the decision to keep it secret, saying the aim had been to avoid "an error by an official of the British state leading to torture or even murder of persons in the dataset at the hands of what remains a brutal Taliban regime". Healey said all those brought to the UK from Afghanistan had been accounted for in the country's immigration figures. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to cut the number of migrants arriving in Britain. In 2023, the UK defence ministry was fined £350,000 by a data watchdog for disclosing personal information of 265 Afghans seeking to flee Taliban fighters in the chaotic fall of Kabul two years earlier. Britain's Afghanistan evacuation plan was widely criticised, with the government accused by MPs of "systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation". Hundreds of Afghans eligible for relocation were left behind, many with their lives potentially at risk after details of staff and job applicants were left at the abandoned British embassy in Kabul.
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Syrian army enters Druze stronghold of Sweida
The sandstorm-wracked villages located on the outskirts of the Sweida governorate seemed deserted. On the road connecting Damascus to the southern Syrian province, where the Druze religious minority make up the majority of the population, artillery fire rang out at regular intervals. With their faces hidden behind scarves and Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders, Bedouin tribal fighters sped by on motorcycles, or in the backs of pickup trucks, toward conflict zones where, late in the afternoon on Monday, July 14, Druze militia groups fought Syrian government forces. Members of the General Security Service – the new Syrian police – who, that morning, had taken control of the checkpoint defining the start of Sweida governorate, located at the hamlet of as-Sawara al-Kubra, let the Bedouin fighters through. Only Bedouins from the local area, who arrived in empty pickup trucks in hopes of looting the abandoned villages, were discouraged from getting any closer by warning shots. The police officers lined the belongings they had confiscated from looters up along the side of the road: a refrigerator, some furniture, a computer tower unit, some copper wire and clothing. Moheib al-Bitar and Tourfa Nawakil, two Christian men in their sixties from the hamlet of as-Sawara al-Kubra, searched through the line-up to find objects that had belonged to them. "The 30 Druze families from the village have fled. Only seven Christian families are left here. Fortunately, the General Security deployed to secure the village. The Bedouins looted, burned houses, and killed five Druze," said al-Bitar.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
EU lawmakers to push for another Amazon hearing in the autumn
Lawmakers of the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) committee on Tuesday called for another hearing with senior representatives of tech giant Amazon this autumn, after a planned grilling with its senior executives didn't take place last month. The timing of the hearing and of any planned visit to Amazon's facilities in EU member states will be decided after the summer, sources with knowledge of the matter told Euronews. In June, EMPL heard from trade unions and Amazon workers on the issue of workers' rights, but not from a company representative, because the US tech giant didn't offer the specific senior manager requested by the EMPL committee. Amazon said it would send two Europe-based vice-presidents, rather than Senior Vice President Russell Grandinetti, but the committee refused to hear from the proffered speakers. As a result, some political groups called for further restrictions on the company, including a review of its contracts with the EU institutions. A spokesperson for Amazon said that the company takes its engagement with policymakers "extremely seriously" and that it remains open to constructive dialogue. "We hope the European Parliament will allow room for moderate voices and fact-based discussions, focused on the logistics industry more broadly and reflecting Amazon's contributions to European economy and society," the spokesperson said. Access badges The Parliament has made the hearing a precondition for Amazon regaining access to its premises, after the tech giant's access badges were withdrawn in February 2024 because the company failed to attend a series of hearings and factory visits in 2021 and 2023 related to workers' rights. Amazon said in a statement last month it was disappointed by the committee's decision. The company also wrote to the President of the Parliament, Roberta Metsola, setting up a meeting with Senior Vice President for Global Affairs & Legal, David Zapolsky, in Washington, to 'discuss broader policy issues of interest' to the Parliament. Metsola said the matter is in the hands of the EMPL committee, according to a Parliament source. Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said in a statement to welcome the EMPL Committee's decision "to maintain the Amazon lobby ban and reject the company's attempt at evading public scrutiny in a closed-door meeting with Parliament President Roberta Metsola.' 'Now, we want to see to another, cross-committee hearing on the broader dimensions of Amazon's abuse – its labour, tax, environmental and anti-competitive practices – and a visit to Amazon warehouses during peak season," he added.
