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The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Is Israel exploiting distrust between Syria's Druze and Damascus?
The city of Sweida in southern Syria became a battleground this week after a series of retaliatory attacks between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribes escalated. President Ahmad Al Shara's government deployed general security forces to the area, ostensibly to restore order. What followed were deadly confrontations and dozens of soldiers were killed. But residents of the Druze-majority city say the government's response was brutal. Populous neighbourhoods came under heavy shelling, forcing people to flee, and civilians were killed in the crossfire. From across the border, Israel intervened with strikes on key government sites including the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Damascus. It stepped in to defend the Druze, Israeli officials said. The violence killed hundreds of people before a ceasefire was announced on Wednesday. But what is at the root of the tension between this Druze minority and the new leadership in Syria? And why is Israel imposing itself on the conflict? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher digs deep into the many complex layers that brought bloodshed to Sweida this week. She speaks to Syria experts and academics Rahaf Aldoughli and Joshua Landis, and we also hear from a Druze fighter involved in the conflict.
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Spillover of Syrian violence to Lebanon adds 'new layer of worry'
Lebanon has been witnessing rising internal tensions amid the spillover of Syrian violence involving Druze communities and pro-government forces. 'The last thing we need now is more tension between different groups,' said a security source in Beirut. Hundreds were killed in days of fighting between Druze fighters and government forces and allied groups in Sweida. The southern Syrian city is a predominantly Druze city. The violence escalated significantly on Wednesday when Israel carried out strikes on Damascus, while also pressing attacks on Syrian government forces in the south. 'The violence in Syria is spreading to Lebanon. We are seeing heightened tensions between Sunnis and Druze,' the source added. The Druze are a small religious sect that emerged from a branch of Islam in the 11th century. Their faith blends elements of Islam with ancient traditions. About one million Druze live across the Middle East, mainly in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Lebanese security sources warned that Druze communities in some villages are expelling Syrian workers, while others have been attacking cars belonging to Syrians passing through. Meanwhile, several demonstrations in support of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), the Islamist group that Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara led, took place in northern Lebanon, accompanied by warnings that extremist groups are preparing for 'action,' according to the sources who did not further elaborate. Lebanon is already in a fragile state, with concerns existing over possible clashes between Hezbollah-aligned Shiites and Sunni factions linked to extremist groups. In addition to concerns of sectarian fighting, Israel has continued striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on a daily basis, despite a truce agreement reached in November. 'This Druze-Sunni tension adds a new layer of worry. We are dealing with intercommunal strife, Syrian-related unrest, a continuing conflict with Israel, and the threat of terrorist attacks. It's just too much at this point,' said another security source. The Lebanese army announced last month the arrest of the suspected leader of ISIS in Lebanon, accusing him of planning attacks. Authorities fear that dormant ISIS and other extremist cells in Lebanon could now be activated in retaliation or as part of a wider plan to destabilise the country amid renewed instability in neighbouring Syria. Although largely driven underground after a major military defeat in 2017, ISIS and other extremist groups have fought bloody battles with the Lebanese army in the past and carried out bombings against Hezbollah and its supporters. Now, with Syria's political landscape shifting after the collapse of the Assad regime last year, Lebanese officials warn that the threat is far from over.
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Syrian forces withdraw from Druze city of Sweida after Israeli strikes and US demands to pull out
Government forces and allied militias began withdrawing from the mostly Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria on Thursday. It comes after Israeli strikes to defend the sect and US demands on Damascus to pull out. "Withdrawal of the Syrian Arab Army from Sweida has begun" the Syrian state news agency said. The army's mission to to pursue lawless groups had ended and an agreement reached with some Druze figures, it added. Photos of pick-up trucks carrying machine guns and troops purportedly leaving were published. Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara vowed that those behind the violence against the Druze minority would be held accountable. "We are keen on holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people, as they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," he said in a televised address early on Thursday morning. It is the second time since April that outside intervention has halted major attacks against the Druze, a minority of several hundred thousand in Syria who follow an offshoot of Islam and are also present in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. Israel intervened militarily in April to halt attacks by government militias in which dozens of Druze were killed in Damascus and Sweida. "The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities," that would have pushed "matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate", Mr Al Shara added. The Druze spiritual leadership of Syria, a triumvirate led by Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, has been critical of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a splinter group of Al Qaeda that ousted and replaced former president Bashar Al Assad in April. Mr Al Hijri, a key figure in a civil disobedience movement against the former regime, has labelled the government, which is made up of former members of HTS, as extremist and anti-democratic. Many Druze have also opposed attempts by the government to station security forces from outside the area in Sweida, saying they should be drawn from the local population. Suwayda 24, a network of local journalists, said that some pro-government troops remained in southern districts of Sweida, the provincial capital, carrying out looting, amid fears of more street killings. The main hospital in the city remains captured by the army, with bodies, mostly of members of the Druze community, scattered in the hallways after the morgue became full, it said. The network added that among the deceased were 10 men from one family, the Radwans, executed by security forces in their building in Sweida. There was no independent verification of the report. Sources in Jordan say that government forces and allied militias have killed more than 200 Druze, including civilians, since Sunday. Among them are at least a dozen men who were executed after the loyalist forces stormed buildings in Sweida. Dozens of Syrian forces, including three southern security commanders, have been killed by Israeli strikes against military formations and symbols of power in Damascus. Late on Wednesday, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Washington had called on the Syrian government "to withdraw their military, in order to allow all sides to be able to de-escalate". "We have been very active, and of course the secretary [Marco Rubio] and the President [Donald Trump] have been very blunt about what they expect and also very optimistic about this changing," Ms Bruce told Fox News. This US request came after lsraeli strikes on Syrian military targets, with a series of attacks on the main military compounds in Damascus on Wednesday. A Syrian military official told The National that the Army General Command and Defence Ministry, both adjacent to the city's Umayyad Square, "took several strikes and were badly damaged". Israel said it was acting to defend Syria's Druze minority following the kidnapping of a Druze trader and clashes with Bedouin tribes that prompted the intervention of Damascus. Israel has also reinforced troops on its northern border. On Wednesday, Syrian authorities announced an 'immediate and complete halt ' to their offensive. The Syrian government said it had agreed to the ceasefire with some but not all representatives of the Druze community. A previous truce failed to hold during days of urban warfare. Mr Al Hijri said he was not part of the two deals. Israel strikes Damascus - in pictures The ceasefire deal was reached with the House of the Druze Unifiers, not specifically with the Druze triumvirate headed by Mr Al Hijri. But it stipulates that 'all parties will cease military escalation" and provides for an "immediate and complete halt" to government military operations. The agreement also signalled that Syrian security forces in Sweida province will from now be drawn only from its residents, a main Druze demand. At the White House, Mr Rubio blamed "historic longtime rivalries" for the clashes. "It led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side," he said. 'Painful blows' On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said "painful blows have begun", as he posted footage of a Syrian TV anchor in panic at an explosion behind her while live on air. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said "murder and pogroms" were taking place against minorities in Syria. The US has been pushing to end hostilities between Syria and Israel, seeking a possible deal between the two foes. Residents of Sweida contacted by The National on Wednesday said they were afraid for their lives, not just from shelling but also from government snipers and the storming of houses by regular troops and militias allied with Damascus. "My neighbour was shot dead by a sniper, right there in the street. He had just stepped outside," said one resident. The man had been trying to escape Sweida to a village on the outskirts before he was shot, the resident added. The Israeli attacks came as Syrian troops and their militia allies widened an offensive, using snipers and firing rockets on residential areas, witnesses said. Syrian militias forcibly shave men's moustaches in Druze heartland A witness in Sweida said government forces fired Grad rockets at the city on Wednesday and had pounded it with artillery rounds since Sunday. 'We have not left our houses. We do not feel secure because the shelling is random,' said the resident, who is a member of Sweida's Christian clergy. The city of 140,000 is overwhelmingly Druze but has a minority of Christian and Sunni inhabitants. Sweida is home to most of Syria's registered 800,000 Druze. But many have left, particularly during the country's 13-year civil war, with about 270,000 remaining in the province.
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Israel's attack on Syria makes a bad situation much worse
Israel attacked the Syrian army headquarters on Wednesday, ostensibly in defence of Syria's Druze community. 'We are working to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime's gangs,' said Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as smoke rose over the Syrian capital. It was later confirmed that army general command and the defence ministry were badly damaged. Israel's strikes have caused widespread alarm in the region and further afield, with the EU calling for Israel to 'fully respect Syria's sovereignty'. The UAE condemned the attacks as a dangerous escalation. Israel's broader intervention distorts an already complex picture and was predicated on accusing Syrian authorities of systematic persecution of the Druze. It now appears closely interested in destabilising the Syrian government. Recent days have seen deadly clashes between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribes in southern Syria, which have worsened into large-scale violence centred in the city of Sweida. On Tuesday, right-wing Israeli minister Amichai Chikli called for Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara to be 'eliminated'. Before the Damascus strikes on the following day, Israel had already hit Syrian military convoys in Sweida, killing one Syrian soldier. By Wednesday evening, the Syrian government said it had agreed a ceasefire with representatives of the Druze community. Israel should act as a responsible neighbour to a country embarking on a new chapter The events of the past few days are of grave concern for Syrian authorities, who are trying to unite a country of kaleidoscopic diversity traumatised on a multi-generational level by war. Some Syrian Druze leaders have resisted attempts by the new government to assert control since the fall of the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad in December. Part of this is an unwillingness to cede de-facto autonomy gained in the chaos of the war, but part of it is also a hesitation to accept the authority of an administration with deep Islamist roots. A pattern of assaults against Druze civilians, in particular, poses a major risk of sectarian violence erupting once again in a country that has only just managed to overcome a 14-year civil war. The Druze are not the only minority group who have found themselves attacked. Alawites in northern Syria have faced violence that left more than 1,300 people dead. In Israel, the government should act as a responsible neighbour to a country embarking on a new chapter – one that Mr Al Shara has repeatedly said involves an end to the Assad-era stance of permanent hostility towards surrounding states. Incitements to violence do not serve the Israeli public, which is already exhausted from fighting several wars. Its government would do well to halt any further intervention. A better path is to stay the course in ongoing dialogue with the Syrian government amid the US administration's efforts to bring Syria further into the international fold. Violence was once, not so long ago, a major aspect of life in Syria. But if the new Syria is to succeed, those days must be consigned to history.
Qatar Tribune
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Syria praises Qatar for support during OPCW meeting
QNA The Hague Syria, during its participation in the 109th session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, expressed its deep thanks and appreciation to the State of Qatar for its temporary sponsorship of Syria's interests at the organization, affirming that this support reflects the strength of bilateral relations and Qatar's commitment to supporting Syria's stability and its active return to international forums. Ibrahim Al Alabi, who serves Advisor to the Syrian Foreign Minister and Commissioner for the Chemical Weapons, emphasized in his speech the importance of progress made on the ground, as well as plans to launch internationally-led working groups under Syrian leadership to address the legacy of chemical weapons. The members of the Executive Council and the Director-General of the organization unanimously praised what they described as Syria's serious shift and effective cooperation, reflecting a clear break from previous obstruction. They stressed the importance of President Ahmad Al Shara's meeting with the Director-General of the organization in Damascus.
