logo
News Analysis: Syria's sectarian clashes, Israeli airstrikes and a wary peace: What to know

News Analysis: Syria's sectarian clashes, Israeli airstrikes and a wary peace: What to know

Yahoo5 days ago
More than a week of sectarian bloodshed in Syria has given way to a wary truce, pausing a fight that drew Israel into an unprecedented confrontation with Syria's new authorities while raising fresh questions on whether those leaders can steer the country past the fractures of its 14-year civil war.
The fighting in Sweida, the southern province bordering Jordan and near Israel, began last week between militiamen from the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim tribes. It soon embroiled Syrian government forces and Israel in a chaotic battlefield that saw hundreds killed — some in sectarian-fueled revenge attacks — and more than 128,000 people displaced before a U.S.-backed ceasefire was announced Sunday.
The violence underscores the challenges facing the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a rebel-turned-politician whose armed faction spearheaded the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in December. Since then, Al-Sharaa's Islamist-dominated government has struggled to win the trust of minority communities in the country and failed to persuade militias formed during the civil war to disarm or fall under Damascus' authority.
Here's a breakdown of what's happening in Sweida and why many believe it could derail Syria's delicate postwar recovery.
How did the clashes start?
Before the fighting erupted July 13, tensions were already high after a spate of kidnappings and robberies between Druze communities in Sweida and nearby Bedouin tribes.
As the unrest grew into open conflict involving Druze militias and armed Bedouins, the government dispatched its forces to stop the fighting. But some Druze leaders said the government aided the Bedouins instead; they also accused government-aligned security personnel of committing sectarian-motivated rampages, looting and executions against Druze civilians.
Read more: Sectarian violence erupts again in Syria, leaving at least 160 dead
Druze militias launched a counterattack and retaliated with a wave of killings and kidnappings against Bedouin fighters and civilians. Israel entered the fray with an airstrike campaign targeting Syria's security forces and tanks, as well as the army headquarters and the presidential palace in Damascus, the capital.
The violence left roughly 1,260 dead, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain. It also said government forces carried out summary executions. Included in the death toll are hundreds of state security personnel.
Who are the Druze?
The Druze, who make up roughly 3% of Syria's population, are members of a syncretic religion that emerged in the 11th century as an offshoot of Shiite Islam. There are roughly 1 million Druze worldwide, more than half of them in Syria, and most of the rest in Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights, which Israel has illegally occupied — according to international law — since 1967.
During the civil war, the Druze were largely unwilling to ally with Assad but were wary of the opposition, which was dominated by hard-line Sunni Islamist groups, some of whom viewed Druze as infidels. The Druze formed militias for protection.
Read more: 'From dictatorship to occupation': Syrian civilians caught in Israeli advance
When Assad fell, many Druze celebrated. But some spiritual and militia leaders — like other minority communities across the country — remained suspicious of Al-Sharaa and his Islamist past, which once included affiliation with the terrorist network Al Qaeda. They resisted his calls to disarm and insisted they would cede power only to a representative government.
Waves of sectarian attacks have only reinforced their suspicions of Al-Sharaa: In March, government-linked factions massacred about 1,500 people, mostly from the Alawite sect, and in May, clashes in Druze-majority areas near the capital left 39 people dead.
How did Israel get involved?
Israel has entrenched itself in the neighboring country since Assad's fall, with warplanes launching a wide-scale attack to destroy the Syrian army's arsenal even as Israeli tanks and troops blitzed into Syria and commandeered villages near the border.
Since then, it has consolidated its presence and operated ever deeper in Syrian territory, justifying the moves as necessary for its security and to stop armed groups, government-aligned or otherwise, from launching attacks on Israel from Syrian territory.
Israel has also imposed what is in effect a demilitarized zone over southern Syria, including Sweida, preventing the Syrian army from establishing its authority over the region.
Read more: Israel bombs Damascus military HQ as sectarian strife rages in Syria
Critics say Israel is engaging in a land grab aimed at keeping Syria a weak and fragmented neighbor.
Another reason for Israel's intervention is its own Druze population, a vocal minority of about 145,000 people, some of whom serve in the Israeli military. Over the last few months, Israeli troops have offered assistance to Syrian Druze communities. And when the Sweida fighting began, Israeli Druze citizens demonstrated near the border, calling on the Israeli military to protect their fellow Druze in Syria.
Despite those overtures, many Syrian Druze fear Israel's growing presence in their areas and have sought a diplomatic resolution to their differences with the Syrian government. Others, such as Hikmat al-Hijri, an influential Druze spiritual leader opposed to Al-Sharaa, have repeatedly called for foreign protection.
What is happening with the ceasefire?
Hours after the ceasefire took effect late Sunday, the Syrian government evacuated about 1,500 Bedouin family members trapped in Sweida city. Druze civilians were to be evacuated at a later time. Other phases of the truce will see the release of detained Bedouin fighters and the bodies of Bedouins killed in the fighting.
Is the U.S. playing a role?
The U.S. was involved in brokering the ceasefire. More generally, Trump administration officials have thrown their support behind Al-Sharaa, lifting years-old sanctions that had all but choked the country's economy and shepherding diplomatic contacts with Israel.
Speaking to reporters Monday in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said Syrian authorities needed to be held accountable for violations but 'they also need to be given the responsibility that' is theirs.
Read more: U.S. envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention
Earlier, in an interview with the Associated Press, he deplored the killings but said the Syrian government was acting 'as best [it] can as a nascent government with very few resources to address the multiplicity of issues that arise in trying to bring a diverse society together.'
He also suggested Israel wasn't interested in seeing a strong Syria.
'Strong nation-states are a threat. Especially, Arab states are viewed as a threat to Israel,' he said. But in Syria, he said, 'I think all of the the minority communities are smart enough to say, 'We're better off together, centralized.''
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Terrified Druze Syrians speak out after deadly violence: ‘They just kill people everywhere'
Terrified Druze Syrians speak out after deadly violence: ‘They just kill people everywhere'

New York Post

timean hour ago

  • New York Post

Terrified Druze Syrians speak out after deadly violence: ‘They just kill people everywhere'

Terrified minorities under attack for weeks in Syria by the country's new Islamist regime are wary of a fragile ceasefire — despite President Trump's pronouncement this week calling for the groups to be protected, their relatives told The Post. More than 1,000 Druze, the country's third largest religious minority which makes up just about three percent of the population, and 25 Syrian Christians have been killed so far in the southern district of Sweida. Safi, a Druze lawyer in Syria, described heinous violence, including the indiscriminate murders of children and elderly, while a Christian Syrian named Lama told The Post her father was shot to death while scavenging for food. Advertisement 'We believe they will continue to attack us – and the fear is growing,' Safi said, calling al-Sharaa's government 'a dictatorship…that is brutal to everyone.' 3 Food vendor Raif Rashev is Druze and survived the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas only to see his family subject to violence at home in Syria. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post 'We can't trust them. This is not a government we can make a deal with,' he added. 'Right now, we are besieged by the Islamists who don't differentiate between Christians and Druze – they're attacking everyone,' said Lama, 30, a pharmacist who just gave birth to a son. Advertisement Her father's bullet-riddled body was found by members of her church days after he'd gone out and failed to return, said Lama, who is now in hiding. 'There are no guarantees this is all over. With every ceasefire, they go back again with the missiles and snipers to attack peaceful people,' she said, adding civilians are scrambling for shelter as homes are targeted by drones. 3 Violence against religious minorities in southern Syrian has escalated in recent weeks. Getty Images A NYC chef from Syria who narrowly escaped with his life during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas says his homeland is now 'suffering a Druze October 7.' Advertisement 'My people are being abandoned. It's a massacre,' raged Raif Rashev, 41, who is Druze and said his 13-year-old cousin was killed. 'They just kill people everywhere – kids, women. It's chilling.' The violence comes months after Islamist militia Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, ousted President Bashar al-Assad regime. HTS, which experts said evolved from Al Qaeda, is now the main power in Syria under new President Ahmed al-Sharaa. 3 Rashev's 13-year-old cousin, seen here with his own father. He was one of hundreds of victims of violence against religious minorities in Syria. Obtained by the New York Post Advertisement The violence came after President Trump lifted longstanding sanctions against Syria in late June, interpreted by al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda leader, as a 'greenlight from the world to do what he wants,' an intelligence source told The Post. 'He's powerful enough after the announcement of lifting the sanctions. He showed he can be the dictator he wants to be,' the source said. The US State Department announced this week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'underscored the importance of protecting civilians' in Syria.

UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells Macron and Merz
UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells Macron and Merz

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells Macron and Merz

THE UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into and evacuate children needing medical assistance, Keir Starmer has confirmed in a call with French and German counterparts. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a readout of the call, Number 10 said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. READ MORE: Keir Starmer defers recognising Palestine amid pressure from 221 MPs and Macron 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' a Downing Street spokesperson said. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and a smokescreen' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could "kill starving civilians". UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Twitter/X Saturday: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' Israel said on Friday it will allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory, where there is widespread devastation. The readout made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, which the Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Macron confirmed his country would do so in September. Starmer has faced criticism for the move, with MP Zarah Sultana writing on Twitter/X that he "belongs in The Hague" over his complicity in the ongoing genocide. READ MORE: 'He belongs in The Hague': Keir Starmer fiercely criticised over Gaza speech Downing Street said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'. Once the proposals have been 'worked up', they will seek to advance them with other key partners, including in the region, the readout said. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week. Donald Trump suggested Macron's announcement, which saw him commit to formally recognising Palestinian sovereignty at the UN General Assembly in September, 'doesn't matter' as he left the US for a visit to Scotland. Sarah Champion, the senior Labour MP who organised the letter by parliamentarians, said recognition 'would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people'. Other senior Commons figures who signed the letter include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh – Parliament's longest-serving MP – also signed it. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government has so far said its immediate focus is on getting aid into the territory and insisted that recognising sovereignty must be done as part of a peace process. READ MORE: 'Not in our name': Hundreds gather in Scottish cities to protest Donald Trump Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. Starmer is expected to meet with Trump during his visit to Scotland. US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up negotiations would be held on a lasting truce.

UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, PM tells Macron and Merz
UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, PM tells Macron and Merz

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, PM tells Macron and Merz

The UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed in a call with French and German counterparts. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the starving population in the enclave. In a readout of the call, Number 10 said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' the readout said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store