Clashes, Homes Torched In South Syria's Sweida Despite Ceasefire
Just hours earlier, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had announced an immediate ceasefire, but Bedouins and tribal fighters who are allied with the Syrian authorities pushed on in the west of the Druze-majority city.
"Go forward, tribes!" said fighter Abu Jassem, addressing fellow combatants in the area, where the streets were largely deserted.
"We will slaughter them in their homes," he said, referring to the Druze.
The tribal fighters have converged on Sweida from other parts of Syria to support the Bedouins who have been clashing with Druze fighters since July 13.
The violence has killed at least 940 people, according to a monitor.
An AFP correspondent on Saturday saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them.
Some fighters, their faces covered, opened fire in the streets with automatic weapons while others moved around on vehicles and motorbikes.
One fighter wore a black band around his head that bore the Islamic profession of faith.
Another was carrying scissors, after footage in recent days showed fighters cutting the moustaches of Druze elderly and clergy, a grave insult to members of the minority community.
The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are regarded at best with suspicion by more hard-line Sunni Islamists who count among the ranks of Syria's new authorities.
In Sweida city, where around 150,000 people live, residents have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water.
Food supplies are scarce despite repeated appeals for humanitarian assistance, and communications have largely been cut off.
Near the city's main hospital, an AFP photographer said bloated bodies were being taken for burial in a nearby pit as the morgue was overflowing.
A doctor had told AFP that the facility had received more than 400 bodies.
Security forces on Saturday were deploying in the province with the stated aim of protecting civilians and ending the chaos.
Near a village north of Sweida, an AFP correspondent saw government forces deploying at a checkpoint and seeking in vain to prevent armed tribal fighters from advancing.
Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told AFP in the province's north that security forces were deploying "to protect public and private property and guarantee the security of civilians".
Government forces were to "supervise the withdrawal of the tribes that were in battle with outlaw groups," he added, referring to Druze fighters.
An AFP correspondent said some tribal fighters withdrew from the city on Saturday afternoon, and also reported armed men dragging bodies from a street.
According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced at least 87,000 people.
One resident of the city who fled days earlier told AFP that "We have nothing left."
"Most of the people we know -- our relatives and friends -- are dead," said the resident, requesting anonymity due to the security situation.
"Sweida has been destroyed, and we are trying to keep our families away until this madness ends." Residents of Syria's majority-Druze city of Sweida have been holed up in their homes as the violence raged AFP Syria's security forces were deploying in Sweida province with the stated aim of protecting civilians and ending the chaos AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
2 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Hungry And Exhausted, AFP Journalists Document Gaza War
AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that chronic food shortages are affecting their ability to cover Israel's conflict with Hamas militants. Palestinian text, photo and video journalists working for the international news agency said desperate hunger and lack of clean water is making them ill and exhausted. Some have even had to cut back on their coverage of the war, now in its 22nd month, with one journalist saying "we have no energy left due to hunger". The United Nations in June condemned what it claimed was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. Witnesses and Gaza's civil defence agency, however, have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, with the UN saying the military had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May. Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza. "I've had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones," he said. "I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally. "I've tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail." Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family's home after his own apartment was destroyed. "I'm exhausted from carrying heavy cameras on my shoulders and walking long distances," he said. "We can't even reach coverage sites because we have no energy left due to hunger and lack of food." Qattaa relies on painkillers for a back complaint, but said basic medicines were not available in pharmacies, and the lack of vitamins and nutritious food have added to his difficulties. The constant headaches and dizziness he has suffered due to lack of food and water have also afflicted AFP contributor Khadr Al-Zanoun, 45, in Gaza City, who said he has even collapsed because of it. "Since the war began, I've lost about 30 kilos (66 pounds) and become skeletal compared to how I looked before the war," he said. "I used to finish news reports and stories quickly. Now I barely manage to complete one report per day due to extreme physical and mental fatigue and near-delirium." Worse, though, was the effect on his family, he said. "They're barely hanging on," he added. Eyad Baba, another photojournalist, was displaced from his home in Rafah, in the south, to a tent in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, where the Israeli military this week began ground operations for the first time. But he could not bear life in the sprawling camp, so he instead rented an apartment at an inflated price to try to at least provide his family some comfort. Baba, 47, has worked non-stop for 14 months, away from his family and friends, documenting the bloody aftermath of bullets and bombs, and the grief that comes with it. Hardest to deal with, though, is the lack of food, he said. "I can no longer bear the hunger. Hunger has reached my children and has shaken my resolve," he added. "We've psychologically endured every kind of death during our press coverage. Fear and the sense of looming death accompany us wherever we work or live." Working as a journalist in Gaza is to work "under the barrel of a gun", he explained, but added: "The pain of hunger is sharper than the fear of bombing. "Hunger robs you of focus, of the ability to think amid the horrors of war." The director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Tuesday that Gaza was heading towards "alarming numbers of deaths" due to lack of food, revealing that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the last three days. AFP text journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, said an exhausting "cash crisis" -- from exorbitant bank charges and sky-high prices for what food is available -- was adding to the issue. Cash withdrawals carry fees of up to 45 percent, said Zanoun, with high prices for fuel -- where it is available -- making getting around by car impossible, even if the streets were not blocked by rubble. "Prices are outrageous," said Afana. "A kilo of flour sells for 100-150 shekels ($30-45), beyond our ability to buy even one kilo a day. "Rice is 100 shekels, sugar is over 300 shekels, pasta is 80 shekels, a litre of oil is 85-100 shekels, tomatoes 70-100 shekels. Even seasonal fruits now -- grapes, figs -- cost 100 shekels per kilo. "We can't afford them. I don't even remember how they taste." Afana said she keeps working from a worn-out tent in intense heat that can reach more than 30C, but going days without food and only some water makes it a struggle. "I move slowly, unlike before," she said. "The danger isn't just the bombing. Hunger is slowly killing our bodies and threatening our ability to carry on. "Now, I'm not just reporting the news. I'm living the catastrophe and documenting it at the same time." Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on July 8 that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Video journalist Youssef Hassouna, 48, said the loss of colleagues, friends and family had tested him as a human being "in every possible way". But despite "a heavy emptiness", he said he carries on. "Every frame I capture might be the last trace of a life buried beneath the earth," he added. "In this war, life as we know it has become impossible." Zuheir Abu Atileh, 60, worked at AFP's Gaza office, and shared the experience of his journalist colleagues, calling the situation "catastrophic". "I prefer death over this life," he said. "We have no strength left; we're exhausted and collapsing. Enough is enough." Hunger has only added to the strain of documenting constant death and destruction after more than 21 months of war, AFP journalists say AFP AFP journalists say the difficulties in obtaining enough food to support their families has become an unbearable burden AFP 'In this war, life as we know it has become impossible,' said AFP video journalist Yousef Hassouna AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Ukraine Curbs Anti-corruption Agencies, Sparking Rare Protests
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill on Tuesday revoking the autonomy of two anti-corruption agencies, a proposal that has sparked rare street protests in Kyiv and alarm among the country's international backers. Critics say the legislation consolidates power in Zelensky's hands and will allow government meddling in high-profile graft cases. The European Union called the decision a "serious step back", while hundreds gathered in central Kyiv to oppose the measure -- a show of anti-government anger rarely seen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers in Ukraine's parliament voted 263 to 13 to approve the bill, the majority of those in favour being from Zelensky's ruling party. Zelensky later signed the bill into law, a senior official told AFP. The bill would place the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. The NABU investigates instances of corruption among state institutions, while the SAPO prosecutes other corruption. The Anti-Corruption Action Center, an NGO, said the law would render the agencies meaningless as Zelensky's prosecutor general would "stop investigations into all of the president's friends". Protesters in the capital expressed anger at the measure. Some chanted "veto the law". "The bill is being rushed through," said 26-year-old game designer Anastasia. "It is clear that this is a targeted effort," she added. The protesters jeered and booed after Zelensky signed the bill into law, an AFP reporter saw. NABU began work in 2015, as Kyiv sought to bring the country closer to Europe after a 2014 pro-European revolution. Since its inception, the agency has uncovered widespread graft, including among figures in Zelensky's administration. Many opponents of the law voiced concern that Ukraine was reversing course after a decade of democratisation. Ukraine has taken a tough stance on corruption in recent years, both as a prerequisite to joining the EU and to reassure allies who have sent wartime aid, but investigators say it remains a serious problem. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos slammed the vote and said anti-graft institutions were "essential for Ukraine's EU path". "Seriously concerned over today's vote," Kos wrote on X. "The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU's independence is a serious step back." The chair of the Ukrainian parliament's anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, said the bill ran counter to Ukraine's EU accession process. One European diplomat speaking on the condition of anonymity described the move as "unfortunate". "Is it a setback? Yes. Is this a point of non-return? No," the official told a small group of reporters, including AFP. Ukraine's former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, who resigned from the government in 2024, said the measures marked a "bad day for Ukraine". "Now the President has a choice -- to stand on the side of the people or not," he said. On Monday, law enforcement conducted large-scale raids at the NABU, detaining one employee on suspicion of spying for Russia. Transparency International's Ukraine office called the raids an "attempt by the authorities to undermine the independence of Ukraine's post-Revolution of Dignity anti-corruption institutions." Transparency International ranked Ukraine 105th out of 180 countries in its "corruption perceptions index" in 2024, up from 144 in 2013.
Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Tears Of Joy As Venezuelan Migrants Return From El Salvador Prison 'Hell'
Tears of joy and relief flowed freely Tuesday as Venezuelan Maikel Olivera returned home to his mother's embrace after surviving four months of "real hell" in a Salvadoran prison. The 37-year-old is one of 252 Venezuelan migrants flown home last Friday from a notorious "anti-terrorism" prison where they were sent by the United States in a fear-inducing crackdown on undocumented migrants. Family and friends waited impatiently for Olivera to finally be released by Venezuelan officials after days of medical tests and questioning, breaking out in tearful cheers and waving Venezuelan flags as they saw a police car approaching his family home Tuesday. "You've come back to life, my love!" Olivera's mother Olivia Rojas exclaimed, hugging her son and lovingly stroking his face before taking a step back to look him up and down for any signs of distress. Cars honked in celebration and one person in the crowd wore a T-shirt with the slogan: "Migrating is not a crime." When the clamor died down, Olivera described the CECOT prison he and his compatriots were held at as "real hell." "There were beatings 24 hours a day," he told AFP of the experience. "They told us: 'you will rot here, you will be imprisoned for 300 years.' I thought I would never return to Venezuela again." The CECOT was built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to house dangerous criminals in a successful but much-criticized war on gangs. Bukele accepted payment of millions of dollars from the US President Donald Trump's administration to add migrants deported from the US to his prison population in a move widely denounced by human rights groups. After four months incommunicado, Olivera and the others were finally freed in a prisoner exchange deal with Washington. And not a minute too soon. Caracas -- itself under investigation for alleged rights violations in its own prisons -- says the men were beaten, shot with rubber bullets, sexually abused and given rotten food to eat during their incarceration. The men had been sent to El Salvador despite US officials not providing any evidence for claims that they were gang members, and without any due process on American soil. The last they were heard of was when Bukele shared images of the men arriving at CECOT in chains, their heads shorn. Olivera said he and the others were not allowed to receive visits from lawyers or family members. "I had a friend who was gay, they raped him," he said. "They beat us just for taking a shower." Olivera was delivered Tuesday by authorities to the city of Barquisimeto, a more than four-hour drive west from the capital Caracas where the men arrived in two planes last week, and on the way to Maracaibo, where more families waited. Mercedes Yamarte, 46, worked for days to prepare a special meal and decorate her humble home in a poor Maracaibo neighborhood with balloons in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, bursting with impatience for the return of her son Mervin, 29. The banner outside read "Welcome to your homeland, you were missed," and inside a poster bearing Mervin's photo reads "Welcome home." As the hours passed Tuesday, several false alarms saw the community jump up in excited anticipation, just to sit down again on the plastic chairs they had arranged in a shady spot on a hot day. But Mercedes remained calm. She had spoken to her son, she said, and knew he was on his way. When word of the men's release from CECOT spread last week, people from the neighborhood had gathered around a TV in Mercedes's living room to try and spot their loved ones among the passengers getting off the planes. Among them was Yarelis Herrera, 45, who told AFP her son Edwuar Hernandez appeared "very changed. He looks more like a man now." He is 23. "They have no record of criminal activity, nothing. Humble people seeking a better future who ended up in this nightmare," Mervin Yamarte's younger brother Jonferson told AFP. He had escaped a similar fate by returning home from the United States on a humanitarian flight organized by Caracas. Olivera, Yamarte, and many others risked the dangerous journey to the United States to find work and send money home to economic and political crisis-riddled Venezuela. The South American country has lost about a quarter of its population -- some eight million people -- to emigration under President Nicolas Maduro, whose claims to victory in two successive elections are widely considered illegitimate.
