Latest news with #DruzeFighters
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Syrian state news agency reports Israeli strikes near Sweida
Syrian state media reported Israeli strikes near the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida on Thursday, the first attack on the area after Syrian government forces withdrew following clashes with local fighters. Syria's state-run SANA said 'Israeli occupation aircraft carried out a raid on the outskirts of Sweida city.' Syrian forces had withdrawn from Sweida earlier on Thursday after deadly clashes with Druze fighters accompanied by Israeli strikes and diplomatic pressure to retreat from the area.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
What we know about Israel's strikes on Syria this week
Israel has bombed Syrian government sites and other targets since Monday, saying it was seeking to defend the Druze minority after bloody sectarian clashes in southern Syria. Technically at war with Syria for decades, Israel has said it would not accept the presence of forces of the Islamist-led government in the country's south, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel began its strikes as Syrian government forces deployed to the heartland of the Druze minority in the southern province of Sweida, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes. Israel has said it would intensify its attacks if Syrian forces do not withdraw from the south. How did it begin? Clashes began on Sunday between factions from the Druze religious minority and Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslim, killing more than 100 people. The two sides have a longstanding feud in Sweida. Syrian government forces sent reinforcements to the region, in the country's south, saying they want to reestablish security. But according to witnesses, Druze armed groups and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, government forces and allied groups including Bedouins took control on Monday of several villages near Sweida that were previously run by Druze fighters. Druze people from Golan and Galilee gather at the ceasefire line, trying to cross the buffer zone to enter Syria, near the Village of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights. Source: AAP / Atef Safadi / EPA On Tuesday, following contacts between Damascus authorities and notables from Sweida, the Syrian defence ministry announced a ceasefire after government forces had entered the city. Before then, Sweida, home to around 150,000 people, was controlled by various Druze factions. Syria's three main Druze spiritual leaders, who sometimes hold differing views on political issues, called on local fighters on Tuesday to lay down their arms. However, Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the leaders, then accused Damascus of failing to uphold its commitment to enter Sweida peacefully and called for "resisting this brutal campaign by all available means". Terrified residents of Sweida have reported numerous abuses since the entry of government troops and their allies, including executions, looting and burning houses. Army HQ, presidential palace On Wednesday, Israel said it struck the headquarters of the Syrian army in Damascus, a compound that also houses the defence ministry. Witnesses also told AFP they heard an explosion in the area of the presidential palace, where the Israeli military said it had struck a "military target". Syrian state television reported further Israeli strikes on the army headquarters compound, where a wing of the four-story building was destroyed. The Syrian health ministry said that at least three people were killed and 34 wounded in the strikes on Damascus. Civil defence workers inspect the Syrian defence ministry building after it was heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes. Source: AAP / AP / Ghaith Alsayed Attacks on Sweida On Wednesday, the official Syrian news agency SANA announced an Israeli drone strike on the predominantly Druze city of Sweida. The day before, the Israeli military said it had bombed "military vehicles of the regime forces in Sweida". On Monday, it struck several government tanks in the province. Sweida province is home to the country's largest Druze community, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam who are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, more than 300 people have been killed since Sunday in clashes between Druze fighters, Bedouin tribes and government forces, and in Israeli strikes. The dead include 165 government forces but also 27 Druze civilians killed in 'summary executions ... by members of the defence and interior ministries', said the Observatory. 'Powerful blows'' On Wednesday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz on Wednesday demanded that Syrian forces withdraw from the south. He promised that troops would "operate forcefully in Sweida to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until their full withdrawal". People arrive at Al-Mouwasat Hospital after Israeli airstrikes on Damascus, Syria. Source: AAP / Ahmad Fallaha / EPA Katz said that 'the signals to Damascus are over -- now come the painful blows', sharing Syrian television footage of an explosion in Damascus on his X account. Syria said the Israeli strikes were a "dangerous escalation" and affirmed "its legitimate rights to defend its land and people". New government Even though it has initiated contact with the new Syrian government, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Israel still remains extremely wary of the Islamist-led administration. Since December, when Sharaa's group spearheaded an offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against military sites in Syria, claiming its goal was to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new government. Israel also sent troops into the demilitarised buffer zone on the Golan Heights — part of which it has occupied from Syria since 1967 — and carried out incursions deeper into southern Syria. Some 153,000 Druze live in Israel, where they are citizens, and unlike other Israeli Arabs are subject to compulsory military conscription. On Wednesday, Israeli forces fired teargas to prevent dozens of Druze from crossing the frontier. US says agreement reached US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Wednesday in a post on X that "we have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight". The European Union urged "all external actors" to fully respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity", later demanding Israel "immediately cease" its strikes. United Nations secretary-general António Guterres also condemned the Israeli airstrikes.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Who are the Druze and why is Israel bombing Syria to ‘protect' them?
Who are the Druze and why is Israel bombing Syria to 'protect' them? NewsFeed Israel has bombed Syria, saying it is acting to 'protect' Syria's Druze minority after fighting broke out between Syrian government forces and Druze fighters. But who are the Druze and what do they have to do with Israel? Osama Bin Javaid explains from Damascus. Video Duration 01 minutes 18 seconds 01:18 Video Duration 03 minutes 11 seconds 03:11 Video Duration 00 minutes 32 seconds 00:32 Video Duration 01 minutes 06 seconds 01:06 Video Duration 01 minutes 36 seconds 01:36 Video Duration 00 minutes 58 seconds 00:58 Video Duration 01 minutes 05 seconds 01:05
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Rubio: We're very concerned about Israeli strikes in Syria
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked about Israeli strikes on Syria on Wednesday, said the United States was concerned, adding that he had just spoken to the relevant parties over the phone. 'We're going to be working on that issue as we speak. I just got off the phone with the relevant parties. We're very concerned about it, and hopefully we'll have some updates later today. But we're very concerned about it,' Rubio said, adding that the US wants fighting to stop as clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters broke out hours after a ceasefire agreement. Axios on Wednesday reported, citing a senior US official, that US President Donald Trump's administration asked Israel again on Wednesday to halt strikes on Syria and engage in dialogue with the government in Damascus. Axios did not say whether that request came before or after Israeli strikes on Wednesday on Syria's military headquarters and near the presidential palace in Damascus.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Israel strikes Syria's defence ministry in third day of attacks on the country
The Israeli military struck the Syrian defence ministry in Damascus twice on Wednesday as it intervened in the clashes between the Syrian army and Druze fighters in southern Syria in the country's deadliest violence in months. The strikes collapsed four floors of the ministry and ruined its facade. Syrian state media said that at least two officers had been wounded and staff were reportedly sheltering in the building's basement. It was the first time that Israel had targeted Damsacus since May and the third day in a row it had conducted airstrikes against the Syrian military. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said the strike on the defence ministry had been a 'message to [the Syrian president Ahmed] al-Sharaa regarding the events in Suweida'. The Israeli military struck Syrian tanks on Monday and has continued to conduct drone strikes on troops, killing some soldiers. Israel has said it will not allow the Syrian army to deploy in the south of the country, and that it would protect the Druze community from the Damascus government. Many in the community have rebuffed Israel's claim of patronage for fear of being viewed as a foreign proxy. The Israeli bombing added another complication to an already escalating conflict between Syrian government forces, Bedouin Arab tribes and Druze fighters. More than 200 people have been killed in four days of clashes, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. The continued clashes pitting mostly Sunni government forces against Druze fighters have prompted fears of a wider sectarian conflict. An attack in March by remnants of the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad on security forces led to bloodletting in which more than 1,500 people were killed, most of them from the minority Alawite community. The Druze, a religious minority in Syria and the wider Middle East, make up the majority of the population of Suweida province in the south of the country. They have been negotiating with the Islamist-led authorities in Damascus since the fall of Assad in an attempt to achieve some form of autonomy, but have yet to reach an agreement that defines their relationship with the new Syrian state. The Syrian army entered Suweida on Sunday in an attempt to restore calm between Druze fighters and Arab Bedouin tribes. Fighting broke out after Bedouin tribe members robbed a Druze man on the main road south of Damascus, kicking off a cycle of retaliatory violence between the two groups. Intermittent violence between members of the Druze and Bedouin communities has been common in the area in recent years. Some Druze militias have vowed to prevent Syrian government forces entering Suweida and have attacked them, leading to escalating clashes. The Syrian defence minister announced a ceasefire on Tuesday, and the three spiritual leaders of the Syrian Druze community issued a statement permitting Syrian security forces to enter Suweida. The ceasefire was quickly broken, however, and fighting between Druze fighters and government soldiers resumed. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the most vocally anti-government of the three Druze spiritual leaders, appealed for international powers to help protect the community. Several civilians in Suweida city described being locked inside their home as fighting continued outside, while electricity and other basic supplies have been cut off. One 52-year-old English teacher said they had watched as their neighbour was shot dead by a hidden sniper, and that no one could collect the body for fear of being shot. The Syrian interior ministry said the continued fighting could only be solved by integrating the Druze-majority province into the state and said it came 'in the absence of relevant official institutions'. The killings in Suweida provoked anger among the wider Druze community in the Middle East. Some Israeli Druze in the occupied Golan Heights managing to cross the fence into Syria before being retrieved by the Israeli army. The Israeli military also said that it had reinforced its presence along the Syria-Israel border. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement urging people not to try to cross the border into Syria. 'Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF,' he said. Relations between Israel and Syria had begun to thaw before this week, with Israeli and Syrian officials engaging in security discussions and military coordination. Syria's leadership has hinted it could eventually normalise relations with its southern neighbour. After the fall of Assad, the Israeli military launched hundreds of airstrikes against military assets in Syria and invaded the country's south, where it continues to occupy large swathes of territory.
