logo
New clashes rock Syria's Druze heartland as tribal fighters reinforce Bedouin

New clashes rock Syria's Druze heartland as tribal fighters reinforce Bedouin

The renewed fighting has raised questions over the authority of Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa. (EPA Images pic)
WALGHA : Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland today, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure.
The United Nations called for an end to the 'bloodshed' and demanded an 'independent' investigation of the violence, which has claimed nearly 600 lives since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The renewed fighting raised questions over the authority of interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose interim government also has difficult relations with the Kurdish minority in the northeast and the Alawite minority on the Mediterranean coast.
It was Sharaa who ordered government forces to pull out, saying that mediation by the US and others had helped avert a 'large-scale escalation' with Israel.
Tribal reinforcements from across Syria gathered in villages around Sweida today to reinforce local Bedouin, whose longstanding enmity towards the Druze erupted into violence last weekend.
Anas al-Enad, a tribal chief from the central city of Hama, said he and his men had made the journey to the village of Walgha, northwest of Sweida, because 'the Bedouin called for our help and we came to support them'.
An AFP correspondent saw burning homes and shops in the village, now under the control of the Bedouin and their allies.
The Britain-based Observatory said 'the deployment of tribal fighters to Sweida province was facilitated by government forces, because government forces are unable to deploy to Sweida under the terms of the security agreement with Israel'.
Israel sends aid for Druze
Israel, which bombed the Syrian army in Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to put pressure on the government to withdraw, said today that it was sending aid to the Druze community in Sweida.
'In light of the recent attacks targeting the Druze community in Sweida and the severe humanitarian situation in the area, foreign minister Gideon Saar has ordered the urgent transfer of humanitarian aid to the Druze population in the region,' the foreign ministry said.
The 2 million shekel (nearly $600,000) package includes food parcels and medical supplies, the ministry said.
A ceasefire was supposed to take effect yesterday, but Sharaa's office accused Druze fighters of violating it.
Sweida has been heavily damaged in the fighting and its mainly Druze inhabitants have been deprived of mains water and electricity, while communication lines have been cut.
The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said that nearly 2,000 families had been forced from their homes in Sweida province.
Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of local news outlet Suwayda 24, said the humanitarian situation was 'catastrophic'.
'We cannot find milk for children,' he told AFP.
UN demands independent probe
UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk called for an end to the bloodshed, saying 'the protection of all people must be the utmost priority'.
He demanded 'independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations' adding that 'those responsible must be held to account'.
The latest violence erupted on Sunday after the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant by local Bedouin triggered tit-for-tat abductions, the Britain-based Observatory said.
The Islamist-led government sent in the army, promising to put a halt to the fighting, but witnesses and the Observatory said the troops sided with the Bedouin and committed many abuses, against Druze civilians as well as fighters.
The interim government has had strained relations with Syria's religious and ethnic minorities since it toppled long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December.
This week's fighting marks the most serious outbreak of violence since government forces battled Druze fighters in Sweida province and around Damascus in April and May, leaving more than 100 people dead.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Syria, Israel agree to continue talks after Paris meeting
Syria, Israel agree to continue talks after Paris meeting

The Sun

time3 hours ago

  • The Sun

Syria, Israel agree to continue talks after Paris meeting

SYRIAN and Israeli officials agreed to meet again after no final accord was reached in U.S.-mediated talks in Paris on de-escalating the conflict in southern Syria, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Saturday, citing a diplomatic source. The source described the dialogue as 'honest and responsible', in the first confirmation from the Syrian side that talks had taken place. On Friday, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said officials from both countries spoke about de-escalating the situation in Syria during the talks on Thursday. Representatives from the Syrian foreign ministry and intelligence officials were in attendance, Syria's Ekhbariya reported. Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern Syrian province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killings of Druze by government forces. Last week's clashes underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilising Syria and maintaining centralised rule, despite warming ties with the U.S. and his administration's evolving security contacts with Israel. The diplomatic source said the meeting involved initial consultations aimed at 'reducing tensions and opening channels of communication amid an ongoing escalation since early December'. The Syrian side held Israel responsible for the latest escalation, saying that the continuation of such 'hostile policies' was threatening the region, according to the source. The Syrian delegation also said that Damascus would not accept 'imposing new realities on the ground'. - Reuters

‘Relations used to be good, we were like siblings': Fleeing civilians plead for peace amid deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes
‘Relations used to be good, we were like siblings': Fleeing civilians plead for peace amid deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

Malay Mail

time4 hours ago

  • Malay Mail

‘Relations used to be good, we were like siblings': Fleeing civilians plead for peace amid deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

KANTHARAROM (Thailand), July 26 — As Cambodia and Thailand traded deadly strikes, fleeing civilians on both sides described their cross-border neighbours as 'siblings' and 'friends' — swapping calls for peace against the backdrop of artillery barrages. The death toll from three days of fighting has risen to 33, the majority civilians, after a long-running border dispute sharply escalated into combat waged with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops. 'Relations used to be good — we were like siblings,' said 56-year-old Sai Boonrod, one of hundreds of Thais sheltering at a temple in the town of Kanthararom after evacuating her border village home. 'But now things may have changed,' she told AFP. 'I just want the fighting to end so we can go back to being like siblings again.' Over the Cambodian border, 150 kilometres from Sai's temporary home, a similar scene plays out: hundreds of evacuees huddled in makeshift tents on a temple site, surrounded by emergency food rations and their hastily packed clothes. 'We are neighbours, we want to be friends,' one 50-year-old told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity at the temple shelter in Phumi Bak Thkav. 'But they are attacking us. We are fleeing homes because of them.' Tensions have long flared over the countries' shared 800-kilometre border, peppered with ancient temple sites claimed by both nations. The previous most deadly clashes broke out between 2008 and 2011 — leaving at least 28 people dead. But stretching her legs on a bamboo mat, Sai said 'it was never this violent' in previous times. She is one of more than 170,000 evacuated from the countries' border zones, but her husband stayed behind to help guard neighbours' livestock and belongings. 'I want them to negotiate, to stop firing quickly... so the elderly can return home and the children can go back to school,' she said. The UN Security Council held an urgent meeting yesterday and both sides have said they are open to a truce — but accused the other of undermining armistice efforts. Evacuees displaced by the ongoing conflict between Thailand and Cambodia rest at a makeshift evacuation center inside a Buddhist temple in the Thai border province of Si Sa Ket July 26, 2025. — AFP pic 'End the fighting' This flare-up began with a gun battle in late May killing one Cambodian soldier, and festered with tit-for-tat trade restrictions and border closures before hostilities spiked on Thursday. At 73 years old, Suwan Promsri has lived through many episodes of border friction — but said this one feels 'so much different'. He said resentment of Cambodians among Thais — including himself — is growing, with patriotic online discourse fanning the flames. In February, Bangkok formally protested to Phnom Penh after a video of women singing a patriotic Khmer song in front of a disputed temple was posted on social media. The fighting has also been accompanied by a wave of online misinformation and disinformation from both sides. 'Before the internet, I felt indifferent,' said Suwan. 'But social media really plays a part in fuelling this hatred.' Despite the divisions, he is united with his Thai neighbours, and those over the border in Cambodia, in his calls for peace. 'I want the government to realise that people along the border are suffering. Life is difficult,' he said. 'I hope the authorities work on negotiations to end the fighting as soon as possible.' — AFP

Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day, Malaysia urges ceasefire
Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day, Malaysia urges ceasefire

Malay Mail

time8 hours ago

  • Malay Mail

Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day, Malaysia urges ceasefire

SISAKET, July 26 — Fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border extended into a third day and new flashpoints emerged today as both sides said they had acted in self-defence in the border dispute and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations. More than 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the South-east Asian neighbours in 13 years. There were clashes early today, both sides said, in the neighbouring Thai coastal province of Trat and Cambodia's Pursat Province early, a new front more than 100km from other conflict points along the long-contested border. The two countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. As today, Thailand said seven soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed in the clashes, while in Cambodia five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed, said Defence Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata. In the Thai border province of Sisaket, a university compound has been converted into temporary accommodation, where a volunteer said more than 5,000 people were staying. Samrong Khamduang said she left her farm, about 10 km from the border, when fighting broke out on Thursday. The 51-year-old's husband stayed behind to look after livestock. 'We got so scared with the sound of artillery,' she said. 'But my husband stayed back and now we lost the connection. I couldn't call him. I don't know what is happening back there.' In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the Asean regional bloc, said he would continue to push a ceasefire proposal. Cambodia has backed Anwar's plan, while Thailand has said it agreed with it in principle. 'There is still some exchange of fire,' Anwar said, according to state news agency Bernama. He said he had asked his foreign minister 'to liaise with the respective foreign ministries and, if possible, I will continue engaging with them myself — at least to halt the fighting'. Security Council meeting Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting yesterday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July — claims Cambodia has strongly denied — and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning. 'Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith,' Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media. Cambodia's defence ministry said Thailand had launched 'a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack' and was mobilising troops and military equipment on the border. 'These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty,' the ministry said in a statement today. Cambodia called for the international community to 'condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms' and to prevent an expansion of its military activities, while Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various un-demarcated points along their 817km land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a Unesco World Heritage site. That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognised the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach. — Reuters

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