Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after ceasefire goes into effect
Under a ceasefire agreement reached the day before, which largely halted the hostilities, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address broadcast early Thursday.
The dayslong fighting threatened to unravel Syria's postwar political transition and brought in further military intervention by its powerful neighbor Israel, which on Wednesday struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in the heart of Damascus. Israel said it was acting to protect the Druze religious minority.
Druze leaders and Syrian government officials reached a ceasefire deal mediated by the United States, Turkey and Arab countries.
Convoys of government forces started withdrawing from the city of Sweida overnight as Syrian state media said the withdrawal was in line with the ceasefire agreement and the military operation against the Druze factions had ended.
It remained unclear if the ceasefire would hold after the agreement was announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader. A previous agreement Tuesday quickly broke down after being dismissed by prominent Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri.
The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians.
The Syrian government has not issued a casualty count from the clashes, but some rights groups and monitors say dozens of combatants on both sides have been killed, as well as dozens of largely Druze civilians killed in sectarian attacks.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, says at least 374 combatants and civilians were killed in the clashes and Israeli strikes, among them dozens of civilians killed in the crossfire or in targeted attacks against the minority group.
Videos circulated on social media showed government forces and allies humiliating Druze clerics and residents, looting homes and killing civilians hiding inside their houses. Syrian Druze from Sweida told The Associated Press that several family members who were unarmed had been attacked or killed.
Al-Sharaa appealed to them in his address and vowed to hold perpetrators to account.
'We are committed to holding accountable those who wronged our Druze brethren,' he said, calling the Druze an 'integral part of this nation's fabric' who are under the protection of state law and justice, which safeguards the rights of everyone without exception.
The Druze community had been divided over how to approach al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule over Syria after largely celebrating the downfall of Bashar Assad and his family's decades-long dictatorial rule. They feared persecution after several attacks from the Islamic State militant group and al-Qaeda-affiliates the Nusra Front during Syria's 14-year civil war.
While it first appeared many Druze hoped to resolve matters diplomatically, with al-Sharaa promising an inclusive Syria for all its different communities, over time they became more skeptical, especially after a counterinsurgency in the coastal province in February turned into targeted attacks against the Alawite religious minority.
The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
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The Hill
30 minutes ago
- The Hill
Japan's governing coalition likely to lose upper house election, exit polls show
TOKYO (AP) — The governing coalition of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to lose a majority in the smaller of Japan's two parliamentary houses in a key election Sunday, according to exit polls, worsening the country's political instability. Voters were deciding half of the 248 seats in the upper house, the less powerful of the two chambers in Japan's Diet. Exit poll numbers Ishiba has set the bar low, wanting a simple majority of 125 seats, which means his Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, and its Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner Komeito need to win 50 to add to the 75 seats they already have. That would mean a big retreat from the 141 seats they had before the election. Exit poll results released seconds after the ballots closed Sunday night mostly showed a major setback for Ishiba's coalition. Japan's NHK television projected a range of 32-51 seats for the prime minister's coalition, while other networks projected it would win just over 40 seats. Ishiba vows to stay on The LDP alone is projected to win from 32 to 35 seats, the fewest won by the party, which still is the No. 1 party in the parliament. 'It's a tough situation. I take it humbly and sincerely,' Ishiba told a live interview with NHK. He said that the poor showing was because his government's measures to combat price increase have yet to reach many people. Ishiba showed his determination to stay on to tackle economic and security challenges. 'I will fulfill my responsibility as head of the No. 1 party and work for the country.' Economic worries A poor performance in the election would not immediately trigger a change of government because the upper house lacks the power to file a no-confidence motion against a leader, but it would certainly deepen uncertainty over his fate and Japan's political stability. Ishiba would face calls from within the LDP party to step down or find another coalition partner. 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A 25% tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba. Ishiba has resisted any compromise before the election, but the prospect for a breakthrough after the election is just as unclear because the minority government would have difficulty forming a consensus with the opposition. Populism gains traction Frustrated voters are rapidly turning to emerging populist parties. The eight main opposition groups, however, are too fractured to forge a common platform as a united front and gain voter support as a viable alternative. The emerging populist party Sanseito stands out with the toughest anti-foreigner stance, with its 'Japanese First' platform that proposes a new agency to handle policies related to foreigners. The party's populist platform also includes anti-vaccine, anti-globalism and favors traditional gender roles. 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Voters are divided between stability and change, with some voicing concern about escalating xenophobia. Yuko Tsuji, a 43-year-old consultant, who came to a polling station inside a downtown Tokyo gymnasium with her husband, said they both support LDP for stability and unity. and voted 'for candidates who won't fuel division.' 'If the ruling party doesn't govern properly, the conservative base will drift toward extremes. So I voted with the hope that the ruling party would tighten things up,' she said. Self-employed Daiichi Nasu, 57, who came to vote with his dog, said that he hopes for a change toward a more inclusive and diverse society, with more open immigration and gender policies such as allowing married couples to keep separate surnames. 'That's why I voted for the CDPJ,' he said. 'I want to see progress on those fronts.'
an hour ago
Volunteers flock to immigration courts to support migrants arrested in the hallways
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A diverse group — faith leaders, college students, grandmothers, retired lawyers and professors — has been showing up at immigration courts across the nation to escort immigrants at risk of being detained for deportation by masked ICE officials. They're giving families moral and logistical support, and bearing witness as the people are taken away. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project was inundated by so many community members wanting to help that they made a volunteer training video, created 'Know Your Rights' sheets in several languages and started a Google sheet where people sign up for shifts, said Stephanie Gai, a staff attorney with the Seattle-based legal services non-profit. 'We could not do it without them," Gai said. 'Some volunteers request time off work so they can come in and help.' Robby Rohr, a retired non-profit director said she volunteers regularly. 'Being here makes people feel they are remembered and recognized,' she said 'It's such a bureaucratic and confusing process. We try to help them through it.' Volunteers and legal aid groups have long provided free legal orientation in immigration court but the arrests have posed new challenges. Since May, the government has been asking judges to dismiss deportation cases. Once the judge agrees, ICE officials arrest them in the hallways and put them in fast-track deportation proceedings, no matter which legal immigration pathway they may have been pursuing. Once in custody, it's often harder to find or afford a lawyer. Immigration judges are executive branch employees, and while some have resisted Homeland Security lawyers' dismissal orders in some cases, many are granted. Masked ICE agents grabbed the Colombian man and led him into the hallway. A volunteer took his backpack to give to his family as he was taken away. 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New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested after locking arms with a person in a failed attempt to prevent his detention. Lander's wife, attorney Meg Barnette, had just joined him in walking migrants from a courtroom to the elevator. The volunteers' act of witnessing has proven to be important as people disappear into a detention system that can seem chaotic, leaving families without any information about their whereabouts for days on end. In a waiting room serving New York City immigration courtrooms, a Spanish-speaking woman with long dark curly hair was sitting anxiously with her daughter after she and her husband had separate hearings. Now he was nowhere to be found. The Rev. Fabián Arias, a volunteer court observer, said the woman whose first name is Alva approached him asking 'Where is my husband?' She showed him his photo. 'ICE detained him,' Arias told her, and tried to comfort her as she trembled, later welling up with tears. 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Thomas handed people a small paper flyer listing their rights in Spanish on one side and English on the other. One man walking with a woman told him 'thank you. Thank you.' Another man gave him a hug. Denver volunteer Don Marsh said they offer to walk people to their cars after court appearances, so they can contact attorneys and family if ICE arrests them. Marsh said he's never done anything like this before, but wants to do something to preserve the nation's 'rule of law' now that unidentifiable government agents are 'snatching' people off the streets. 'If we're not all safe, no one's safe,' he said.
American Military News
an hour ago
- American Military News
Planned Serbia-China Military Exercise Sparks EU Backlash
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. BELGRADE — Serbia will conduct military training exercises with China this month, becoming the first-ever EU candidate to do so as the two countries take a new step toward deepening military cooperation. China's Defense Ministry said the 'Peacekeeper 2025' training will be comprised of special units from the Chinese and Serbian armies and held in Hebei Province, northern China, in the second half of July. The Balkans region has become strategically important for China, which has invested in massive infrastructure projects there. In particular, it has signed a free-trade agreement with Serbia, while Belgrade has purchased weapons from Beijing, becoming the first European country to acquire a Chinese air defense system. Serbia's friendly policies toward Beijing — as well as Moscow — have set off alarm bells in Brussels, which has issued multiple warnings to Belgrade, which aims to join the bloc. That tone was evident in the EU's assessment of the planned military training with China, with Brussels saying Serbia should refrain from 'actions and statements that contradict the EU's foreign policy positions.' In response to questions by RFE/RL, an EU spokesperson said that the bloc wants to know it can count on Serbia as a reliable European partner committed to common principles, values, and security. 'We need Serbia to assure us of its strategic orientation,' the spokesperson added. As a candidate country, Serbia is obliged to align its foreign policy with that of the EU, which Brussels has repeatedly brought to Belgrade's attention. Serbia maintains military neutrality and is a member of NATO's 'Partnership for Peace' program, with EU accession as its strategic goal. Belgrade's Balancing Act However, Belgrade continues to balance its foreign policy between the West, China, and Russia, which is currently under Western sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine. Security analyst Nikola Lunic warned that these joint drills 'undermine Serbia's proclaimed EU orientation.' Lunic told RFE/RL that 'interoperability between Serbian and Chinese units sends a clear message to the West.' Last July, Chinese forces held maneuvers with the Belarusian Army directly on NATO's border during a summit of the military alliance's leaders in Washington where there was sharp criticism of Beijing for its support of Russia. While the stated goal by China's Defense Ministry is to 'improve combat capabilities and deepen cooperation,' neither Serbia's Defense Ministry nor the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade disclosed details on participants or the numbers expected to be involved in Peacekeeper 2025. There is no clarity either on whether future joint training will be hosted in Serbia, a common practice in such collaborations. Lunic argues the drills fit the profile of a full military exercise, not simply training, due to their scope and branding. NATO did not respond to a request by RFE/RL for comment on the drills. Chinese Weapons In Serbia's Arsenal Serbia's military cooperation with China is most visible in its recent acquisitions. The Serbian Army procured six CH-92A drones in 2020 and unveiled the CH-95 at an exhibition in 2023, but official numbers remain undisclosed. In 2022, Serbia received the FK-3 air defense system, making it the first European operator of this advanced Chinese missile tech. Late in 2024, Belgrade confirmed that Serbian personnel had received training in China on the FK-3 system, capable of targeting a range of aerial threats. Washington and Brussels have repeatedly expressed concern over Serbia's procurement of Russian and Chinese arms, especially after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In the wake of the invasion, Serbia imposed a moratorium on joint military exercises with foreign partners, exempting only the 'Platinum Wolf' international exercise — historically held in Serbia with the participation of several NATO members, including the United States. Lunic argues this selective application of the moratorium undermines the credibility of Serbia's proclaimed neutrality. Security Ties Before Military Drills This is not the first example of security cooperation between Belgrade and Beijing. Joint police exercises and patrols have taken place since 2019, demonstrating a broader trend of intensified cooperation. Vuk Vuksanovic of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy points to the Global Security Initiative, highlighting increased military and police education exchanges and the rapid adoption of Chinese technology, surveillance, and police equipment by Serbia. From Belgrade's perspective, this deepening cooperation is consistent with its 'multi-vector' foreign policy, using partnerships with diverse global actors, including NATO, Russia, the EU, and China, to maximize its leverage and independence on the world stage. China's Broader Goals And Growing Trade Vuksanovic said that, for China, military collaborations such as Peacekeeper 2025 serve two key interests: gaining international operations experience and boosting its profile as a major power, especially given resistance from EU states against deepening partnerships with the Chinese military. After a humanitarian-focused joint drill with Germany in 2019, and anti-terrorism exercises with Belarus in 2024, the Serbia exercise represents a new chapter in Beijing's military diplomacy with Europe. Economically, China's influence in Serbia is growing. Xi Jinping's May 2024 visit to Belgrade resulted in a declaration to deepen the strategic partnership and 'build a Serbia-China community with a shared future in a new era.' China is now Serbia's top trade partner for imports, with €5.13 billion euros ($5.95 billion) recorded in 2024, and remains a vital source of investment, loans, and diplomatic support in international institutions, especially regarding Kosovo's independence.
