Latest news with #HayatTahriral-Sham
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Nearly 1,000 Killed In Clashes In Syria's South, With 80,000 Displaced
The death toll from a past week of spiraling violence in Syria's Sweida province, a stronghold of the Druze minority – which also has a presence of Christians – has climbed to 940 since last weekend, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, despite a recent declared ceasefire. Among the dead are 326 Druze fighters and 262 Druze civilians, including 182 reportedly executed on the spot by forces from Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham government fighters. The Observatory also reported the deaths of 312 government security forces and 21 Sunni Bedouins—three of whom were civilians allegedly executed by Druze fighters. Additionally, some 15 Syrian government troops were killed in Israeli airstrikes amid the intermittent intervention by Israeli warplanes. Damascus announced a ceasefire early on Saturday, saying in a statement the truce is badly needed in order 'to spare Syrian blood, preserve the unity of Syrian territory, the safety of its people.' In a televised address, the country's self-appointed president Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that he 'received international calls to intervene in what is happening in Suwayda and restore security to the country.' He described that Israeli military intervention has 'reignited tensions' in the city of Sweida, with fighting there at 'a dangerous turning point.' Interestingly he also at one point thanked the United States for its support. Al Jazeera has observed that tens of thousands have been fleeing the fighting: According to Syria's Health Ministry, the death toll from fighting in the Druze-majority city is now at least 260. An estimated 80,000 people have fled the area, according to the International Organization for Migration. 'A lot of extrajudicial killings [are] being reported,' said Vall. 'People are suffering, even those who have been killed or forced to flee, they don't have electricity, they don't have water, because most of those services have been badly affected by the fighting.' Government forces further say they want to defeat Druze leaders who have allied themselves with a foreign power – Israel. Israel has of late made no secret that it is backing the Druze cause, but critics see Netanyahu expansionist 'divide and rule' policies at work. HTS has just taken off the US-designated terrorism list earlier this month, after Trump had posed with its leader Sharaa (Jolani, who had earlier been a member of ISIS) while visiting Riyadh, expressing hope that he'll make for a good post-Assad ruler. HTS fighters have lately been massacring Druze, Christians, and Alawites – waging war against non-Sunni minorities.
Gulf Insider
3 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Israeli Leaders Call For Syrian President's Assassination
Hardline and outspoken Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has called for Israel to 'eliminate' Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, following the latest escalation in sectarian violence this week. 'The shocking images from Syria prove one thing: once a jihadist, always a jihadist,' Ben Gvir said in a video statement on Wednesday. 'Anyone who murders, shaves mustaches, humiliates, and rapes cannot be negotiated with, and the only thing that can be done is to eliminate al-Julani,' he added, referring to the Syrian leader's previous nom de guerre, Mohammad al-Jolani. 'I love the Druze citizens in the State of Israel, and I embrace them warmly, and I tell them: we must cut off the head of the snake,' Ben Gvir added, essentially calling for Sharaa's assassination. Israel has been using the plight of the persecuted Druze minority in southern Syria as a pretext for expanding its military presence far beyond the occupied Golan Heights. Critics have accused Israeli leaders of 'divide-and-conquer' tactics, and have even allowed thousands of Druze who lived under occupied areas (in Israel) to breach the Golan border fence and flood back into Syria. The Syrian regime of Sharaa and his fanatical Sunni fighters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have stood accused of conducting entho-religious genocide, targeting Druze, Christians, and Alawites. This has been happening especially in the south this week. Israel on Wednesday for the first time ever targeted the sprawling Syrian Defense Ministry building with airstrikes, destroying it. This is not something that had been done throughout the entirety of the Assad family's rule. Meanwhile, Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli has joined Ben Gvir in calling for the overthrow of Sharaa. Chikli has called for his assassination, branding him a 'terrorist' and a 'brutal murderer.' Chikli defended the stepped up Israeli attacks on Damascus, drawing comparisons between Sharaa's government and Palestinian militant groups. 'If it looks like Hamas, talks like Hamas, and acts like Hamas—then it is Hamas,' he stated. Rather than the likes of Ben Gvir suddenly becoming concerned over human rights, something else is definitely going on here… But curiously, these Israeli officials were silent when throughout the Syrian proxy war which targeted Assad, the Netanyahu government was openly helping hardline jihadists, including hosting wounded FSA and Nusrah Front (AQ) fighters in Israeli hospitals.
The Hill
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Key players in Syria's latest eruption of violence, from the Druze and Bedouin to government forces
BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes that shook southern Syria this week killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drew in an array of local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country's yearslong civil war. The violence underscored the difficulties facing the Syrian new government struggling to consolidate control over the country, months after Islamist-led insurgents ousted longtime autocrat Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive last December. Some key players and alliances in Syria are different now than during the civil war, but the landscape remains complex. Here's a look at the main parties in the four days of violence in Sweida province before a ceasefire mediated by the United States, Turkey and Arab countries took effect. The truce mostly held on Thursday, though scattered violence was reported. The government Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa leads the new government and is Syria's international face. His Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, once an al-Qaida affiliate that later split from it, spearheaded the anti-Assad charge. Since taking power, al-Sharaa has taken a more moderate tone, preached coexistence and formed diplomatic ties with Western countries, including the U.S. His government has faced suspicion from minority communities — including Assad's Alawite sect, Christians, Syrian Kurds and the Druze — and there have been outbreaks of sectarian violence. Damascus also struggles to turn a patchwork of former rebel groups — including some extremists — into a professional army. In Sweida, al-Sharaa's government forces intervened in clashes that started between local Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, but ended up themselves clashing with the Druze, drawing Israeli airstrikes, purportedly in defense of the Druze. Some government fighters allegedly killed Druze civilians, and looted and burned houses. The Druze The Druze sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Others mostly live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. During Syria's civil war, the Druze were split between supporting Assad, who offered them a degree of autonomy and exemption from army conscription, and his opposition. They established their own militias, partly to defend against Islamic militants who consider them heretics. Until this week's clashes, the Druze were split between those who wanted to integrate with the new government and those seeking to maintain autonomy. The Bedouins While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and who have on occasion clashed with the Druze. In 2000, unrest broke out after a Bedouin killed a Druze man in a land dispute. Assad's forces intervened, shooting Druze protesters. After a 2018 Islamic State group attack on the Druze in Sweida that killed more than 200 people, the Druze accused the Bedouins of helping the militants. The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. Al-Sharaa's forces then intervened, ostensibly to restore calm, but sided with the Bedouins. Some Druze groups allegedly carried out revenge attacks against Bedouins after a ceasefire was reached. Israel Israel frequently launched strikes on Iranian and Iran-backed forces who were Assad's allies during Syria's civil war. Since Assad's fall, Israel has been suspicious of the new Islamist authorities in Damascus. Israeli forces seized have control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what officials they was a move to create a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Washington has been pushing for Syria and Israel to move toward normalizing relations. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to defuse tensions. Israel stepped up its intervention during the Sweida escalation this week, saying it was acting to protect the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority in Israel and often serve in the military. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of Syrian forces around Sweida and struck the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in the heart of Damascus. The U.S. In a watershed moment, President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, a major boost from Washington as the new Damascus authorities try to consolidate control. Amid the Sweida violence, the U.S., which has been pushing to broker ties between Syria and Israel, launched a flurry of diplomacy to push for a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was 'very worried' about the violence, describing it as a 'direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria,' and added that Washington was in 'repeated and constant talks with the governments of Syria and Israel' to deescalate. Turkey Turkey, an ally of both the U.S. and al-Sharaa's government, was also part of the mediation efforts over Sweida. Ankara wants a strong state in Damascus and is primarily concerned with curtailing the influence of Kurdish groups in Syria along the border with Turkey — specifically, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. While the Kurdish SDF fighters are allied with the U.S. and were key in defeating the Islamic State militants, Ankara considers them terrorists because of their association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. The Kurdish-led forces The Kurdish-led SDF controls much of northeast Syria and was not part of the Sweida violence. But its fighters have in the past clashed with Turkish-backed groups that are now part of the new Syrian government forces. In March, the SDF and Damascus signed a landmark deal — backed by Washington — under which the Kurdish-led forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The deal also said Syria's border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeast that are now under the SDF control would be turned over to the central government. But the details of the deal were left vague, and the two sides have been at odds over how to implement it. The Sweida escalation could further sideline those discussions.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Key players in Syria's latest eruption of violence, from the Druze and Bedouin to government forces
BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes that shook southern Syria this week killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drew in an array of local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country's yearslong civil war. The violence underscored the difficulties facing the Syrian new government struggling to consolidate control over the country, months after Islamist-led insurgents ousted longtime autocrat Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive last December. Some key players and alliances in Syria are different now than during the civil war, but the landscape remains complex. Here's a look at the main parties in the four days of violence in Sweida province before a ceasefire mediated by the United States, Turkey and Arab countries took effect. The truce mostly held on Thursday, though scattered violence was reported. The government Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa leads the new government and is Syria's international face. His Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, once an al-Qaida affiliate that later split from it, spearheaded the anti-Assad charge. Since taking power, al-Sharaa has taken a more moderate tone, preached coexistence and formed diplomatic ties with Western countries, including the U.S. His government has faced suspicion from minority communities — including Assad's Alawite sect, Christians, Syrian Kurds and the Druze — and there have been outbreaks of sectarian violence. Damascus also struggles to turn a patchwork of former rebel groups — including some extremists — into a professional army. In Sweida, al-Sharaa's government forces intervened in clashes that started between local Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, but ended up themselves clashing with the Druze, drawing Israeli airstrikes, purportedly in defense of the Druze. Some government fighters allegedly killed Druze civilians, and looted and burned houses. The Druze The Druze sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Others mostly live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. During Syria's civil war, the Druze were split between supporting Assad, who offered them a degree of autonomy and exemption from army conscription, and his opposition. They established their own militias, partly to defend against Islamic militants who consider them heretics. Until this week's clashes, the Druze were split between those who wanted to integrate with the new government and those seeking to maintain autonomy. The Bedouins While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and who have on occasion clashed with the Druze. In 2000, unrest broke out after a Bedouin killed a Druze man in a land dispute. Assad's forces intervened, shooting Druze protesters. After a 2018 Islamic State group attack on the Druze in Sweida that killed more than 200 people, the Druze accused the Bedouins of helping the militants. The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. Al-Sharaa's forces then intervened, ostensibly to restore calm, but sided with the Bedouins. Some Druze groups allegedly carried out revenge attacks against Bedouins after a ceasefire was reached. Israel Israel frequently launched strikes on Iranian and Iran-backed forces who were Assad's allies during Syria's civil war. Since Assad's fall, Israel has been suspicious of the new Islamist authorities in Damascus. Israeli forces seized have control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what officials they was a move to create a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Washington has been pushing for Syria and Israel to move toward normalizing relations. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to defuse tensions. Israel stepped up its intervention during the Sweida escalation this week, saying it was acting to protect the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority in Israel and often serve in the military. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of Syrian forces around Sweida and struck the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in the heart of Damascus. The U.S. In a watershed moment, President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, a major boost from Washington as the new Damascus authorities try to consolidate control. Amid the Sweida violence, the U.S., which has been pushing to broker ties between Syria and Israel, launched a flurry of diplomacy to push for a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was 'very worried' about the violence, describing it as a 'direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria,' and added that Washington was in 'repeated and constant talks with the governments of Syria and Israel' to deescalate. Turkey Turkey, an ally of both the U.S. and al-Sharaa's government, was also part of the mediation efforts over Sweida. Ankara wants a strong state in Damascus and is primarily concerned with curtailing the influence of Kurdish groups in Syria along the border with Turkey — specifically, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. While the Kurdish SDF fighters are allied with the U.S. and were key in defeating the Islamic State militants, Ankara considers them terrorists because of their association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. The Kurdish-led forces The Kurdish-led SDF controls much of northeast Syria and was not part of the Sweida violence. But its fighters have in the past clashed with Turkish-backed groups that are now part of the new Syrian government forces. In March, the SDF and Damascus signed a landmark deal — backed by Washington — under which the Kurdish-led forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The deal also said Syria's border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeast that are now under the SDF control would be turned over to the central government. But the details of the deal were left vague, and the two sides have been at odds over how to implement it. The Sweida escalation could further sideline those discussions.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Key players in Syria's latest eruption of violence, from the Druze and Bedouin to government forces
BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes that shook southern Syria this week killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drew in an array of local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country's yearslong civil war. The violence underscored the difficulties facing the Syrian new government struggling to consolidate control over the country, months after Islamist-led insurgents ousted longtime autocrat Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive last December. Some key players and alliances in Syria are different now than during the civil war, but the landscape remains complex. Here's a look at the main parties in the four days of violence in Sweida province before a ceasefire mediated by the United States, Turkey and Arab countries took effect. The truce mostly held on Thursday, though scattered violence was reported. The government Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa leads the new government and is Syria's international face. His Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, once an al-Qaida affiliate that later split from it, spearheaded the anti-Assad charge. Since taking power, al-Sharaa has taken a more moderate tone, preached coexistence and formed diplomatic ties with Western countries, including the U.S. His government has faced suspicion from minority communities — including Assad's Alawite sect, Christians, Syrian Kurds and the Druze — and there have been outbreaks of sectarian violence. Damascus also struggles to turn a patchwork of former rebel groups — including some extremists — into a professional army. In Sweida, al-Sharaa's government forces intervened in clashes that started between local Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, but ended up themselves clashing with the Druze, drawing Israeli airstrikes, purportedly in defense of the Druze. Some government fighters allegedly killed Druze civilians, and looted and burned houses. The Druze The Druze sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism , a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Others mostly live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. During Syria's civil war, the Druze were split between supporting Assad, who offered them a degree of autonomy and exemption from army conscription, and his opposition. They established their own militias, partly to defend against Islamic militants who consider them heretics. Until this week's clashes, the Druze were split between those who wanted to integrate with the new government and those seeking to maintain autonomy. The Bedouins While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and who have on occasion clashed with the Druze. In 2000, unrest broke out after a Bedouin killed a Druze man in a land dispute. Assad's forces intervened, shooting Druze protesters. After a 2018 Islamic State group attack on the Druze in Sweida that killed more than 200 people, the Druze accused the Bedouins of helping the militants. The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. Al-Sharaa's forces then intervened, ostensibly to restore calm, but sided with the Bedouins. Some Druze groups allegedly carried out revenge attacks against Bedouins after a ceasefire was reached. Israel Israel frequently launched strikes on Iranian and Iran-backed forces who were Assad's allies during Syria's civil war. Since Assad's fall, Israel has been suspicious of the new Islamist authorities in Damascus. Israeli forces seized have control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what officials they was a move to create a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Washington has been pushing for Syria and Israel to move toward normalizing relations. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to defuse tensions. Israel stepped up its intervention during the Sweida escalation this week, saying it was acting to protect the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority in Israel and often serve in the military. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of Syrian forces around Sweida and struck the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in the heart of Damascus. The U.S. In a watershed moment, President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, a major boost from Washington as the new Damascus authorities try to consolidate control. Amid the Sweida violence, the U.S., which has been pushing to broker ties between Syria and Israel, launched a flurry of diplomacy to push for a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was 'very worried' about the violence, describing it as a 'direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria,' and added that Washington was in 'repeated and constant talks with the governments of Syria and Israel' to deescalate. Turkey Turkey, an ally of both the U.S. and al-Sharaa's government, was also part of the mediation efforts over Sweida. Ankara wants a strong state in Damascus and is primarily concerned with curtailing the influence of Kurdish groups in Syria along the border with Turkey — specifically, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. While the Kurdish SDF fighters are allied with the U.S. and were key in defeating the Islamic State militants, Ankara considers them terrorists because of their association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party , or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. The Kurdish-led forces The Kurdish-led SDF controls much of northeast Syria and was not part of the Sweida violence. But its fighters have in the past clashed with Turkish-backed groups that are now part of the new Syrian government forces. In March, the SDF and Damascus signed a landmark deal — backed by Washington — under which the Kurdish-led forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The deal also said Syria's border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeast that are now under the SDF control would be turned over to the central government. But the details of the deal were left vague, and the two sides have been at odds over how to implement it. The Sweida escalation could further sideline those discussions. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
