Attacks on Syrian security forces sent to quell sectarian clashes leave 18 dead as Israel strikes targets to protect Druze
DAMASCUS - At least 18 members of Syria's security forces have been killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, the Defence Ministry said, after they deployed to quell deadly sectarian clashes that had resumed on Monday, while Israel said it struck tanks in a town in the same province on the same day.
Sunday's fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribal fighters was the first time that sectarian violence erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, following months of tensions in the broader province.
Defence Ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdel-Ghani said in statements reported by Syrian state news agency SANA that a number of troops were also injured during attacks on military points by "outlawed groups".
Earlier, the ministry said in a statement to Reuters that these groups, who it did not identify further, had attacked a number of its units at dawn.
It said its forces responded to the attacks and had pursued the groups that refused to halt hostilities and continued to target security forces.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it attacked several tanks in a town in Sweida. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were a "clear warning to the Syrian regime", adding that Israel would not allow harm to the Druze living in Syria.
Close ties between the Israeli state and its 120,000 Druze citizens, strengthened by the fact that Druze men serve in the Israel Defense Forces, are one of the reasons for Israel's deepening involvement in Syria.
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The fighting on Sunday left 30 people dead and prompted Syria's security forces to deploy units to the city to restore calm and guarantee safe passage for civilians looking to leave, the defence ministry said in earlier statements.
But intense clashes broke out again on Monday, local news outlet Sweida24 reported.
Another security source said that Syrian troops would aim to exert state control over the whole province to prevent any more violence, but that this could take several days.
It marked the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.
Sunni Muslim Arab rebel groups which fought Assad during the war agreed in December to dissolve into the Defence Ministry but efforts to integrate armed factions from minority groups - including Druze and Kurds - have largely stalled.
In southern Syria, efforts have been further complicated by Israel's stated policy that it would not allow Syria's new army to deploy south of Damascus and that Sweida and neighbouring provinces should make up a demilitarized zone.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a written statement carried on state media that the "absence of state institutions, especially military and security institutions, is a major cause of the ongoing tensions in Sweida and its countryside."
Sunday's violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said. REUTERS
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