Latest news with #InternalSecurityForces
LBCI
21-07-2025
- LBCI
Lebanese authorities arrest sixth fugitive from Nabatieh jailbreak in Tyre
Lebanon's security forces have arrested another fugitive involved in the recent escape from the Nabatieh detention center, bringing the total number of recaptured inmates to six out of nine. According to information obtained by LBCI, the Internal Security Forces' Information Branch apprehended the fugitive—identified by his initials H.D.—in the southern city of Tyre.
Shafaq News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Syrian Government enters Suwayda for evacuations after deadly clashes
Shafaq News – Suwayda Syrian government buses entered Suwayda Province in southern Syria to evacuate individuals following a newly brokered ceasefire, reached after intense clashes that left over 900 people dead from all sides. State broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya reported that the buses were sent to evacuate wounded individuals and detainees from within the city. Brigadier General Ahmad al-Dalati, head of the Internal Security Forces, stated that government mediation with local Druze factions led to an agreement for the release of detained Bedouin families and their safe return. Interior Minister Mohammad Anas al-Khatib announced that security forces had restored calm in the northern and western parts of Suwayda and had implemented the latest ceasefire agreement, describing the deployment as a first step toward reducing the spread of weapons and restoring public order, leading toward a potential prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability across the province. 'The ceasefire is now the central reference point, enabling state institutions to resume their administrative and service functions,' al-Khatib said. Armed clashes broke out on July 13 between Druze factions and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda, prompting the deployment of Syrian government forces. Those forces were later attacked by groups Damascus labeled as 'unlawful,' resulting in the deaths of dozens of soldiers. While the government has positioned itself as a mediator, other reports alleged that Syrian government forces themselves committed abuses against Druze residents in the province, including killings, beatings, and humiliation based on religious background. The Syrian authorities have firmly denied these accusations, blaming what they described as 'outlaw groups' for the violence and unrest.
Japan Today
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Calm reported in Syria's Sweida; Damascus says truce holding
Members of Internal Security Forces stand guard at an Internal Security Forces' checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri Residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a U.S. envoy signalled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented. With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, "paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate". Reuters images showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had "navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities". "The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process," he wrote on X. Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city's residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. "The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded," he said by phone. Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. "Houses are destroyed ... The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital," he said in a voice message to Reuters from Sweida. The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organised by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi'ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze. Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbours were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia. Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against "our Druze people". He has blamed the violence on "outlaw groups". While Sharaa has won U.S. backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups. COASTAL VIOLENCE After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the defence ministry in Damascus last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarisation of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida. He also said Israel would protect the Druze. The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days. A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered. On Sunday, Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria's coastal region in March, where Reuters reported in June that Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority following attacks on security forces. The presidency said it would review the inquiry's conclusions and ensure steps to "bring about justice" and prevent the recurrence of "such violations". It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings - if appropriate - as soon as possible. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said on July 18 it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people. Reuters could not independently verify the tolls. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Calm reported in Syria's Sweida as tribal fighters said to withdraw
A view shows a street in the village of Walgha, near an Internal Security Forces checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Sweida province, Syria July 19, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo DAMASCUS - Residents reported calm in the Syrian city of Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to fighting. There was no sound of gunfire on Sunday morning, according to a resident speaking from the city outskirts, while a Druze source in the region said there was calm in most areas. Kenan Azzam, a dentist, described the situation on Sunday morning as "a tense calm" but told Reuters residents were still struggling with a lack of water and electricity. "The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded," he said by phone. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus then sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were accused of carrying out widespread violations against the Druze and were hit by Israeli strikes before withdrawing under a truce agreed on Wednesday. The Syrian presidency had announced a new ceasefire early on Saturday but it quickly collapsed into renewed fighting, underlining the challenge interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in asserting authority over the fractured nation. REUTERS
GMA Network
20-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Clashes rage in Druze region as Syria struggles to enforce ceasefire
A damaged car is seen at an Internal Security Forces checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria July 19, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi DAMASCUS - Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machine gun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggled to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try to keep peace, and urged all parties to stop fighting after nearly a week of factional bloodshed in which hundreds have been killed. Late on Saturday, the interior ministry said clashes in Sweida city had been halted and the area cleared of Bedouin tribal fighters following the deployment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said clashes since last week around Sweida had killed at least 940 people. Reuters could not independently verify the toll. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said "Arab and American" mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticized Israel for airstrikes during the week. Violence in Druze region challenges Damascus The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of Sharaa's Islamist-dominated government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al-Assad in December. It started last week as clashes between the Druze - a religious minority native to southern Syria, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon and Jordan - and Syrian Bedouin tribes. Government forces then arrived to try to quell tensions, clashing with Druze gunmen and attacking the Druze community. Saturday's violence once again pitted Druze against Bedouin, witnesses said. The fighting has drawn in neighboring Israel, which carried out airstrikes in southern Syria and on the defense ministry in Damascus this week while government forces were fighting with the Druze. Israel says it is protecting the Druze, who also form a significant minority in Israel. But Israel and Washington differ over Syria. The US supports a centralized Syria under Sharaa's government, which has pledged to rule for all citizens, while Israel says the government is dominated by jihadists and a danger to minorities. In March, Syria's military was involved in mass killings of members of the Alawite minority, to which much of Assad's elite belonged. Israel-Syria tensions In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate ceasefire and urged an immediate end to hostilities. Sharaa said Syria would not be a "testing ground for partition, secession, or sectarian incitement". "The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability," he said in a televised speech. Sharaa appeared to blame Druze gunmen for the latest clashes, accusing them of revenge attacks against Bedouins. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Sharaa was siding with the perpetrators. "In al-Shara's Syria, it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority — Kurd, Druze, Alawite, or Christian," he posted on X. US envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Barrack, who is both US ambassador to Turkey and Washington's Syria envoy, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis, together with other minorities, to "build a new and united Syrian identity". Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities in the seven months since Assad fell, and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarized. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to Sweida for two days. Sweida hospital fills with casualties Mansour Namour, a resident of a village near Sweida city, said mortar shells were still landing near his home on Saturday afternoon, and that at least 22 people had been wounded. A doctor in Sweida said a local hospital was full of bodies and wounded people from days of violence. "All the injuries are from bombs, some people with their chests wounded. There are also injuries to limbs from shrapnel," said Omar Obeid, director of the hospital. —Reuters
