Latest news with #Jaramana
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Syrian monitor says 4 Druze fighters killed in clash with security forces
Restoring and maintaining security remains one of the most pressing challenges for Syria's new authorities. (EPA Images pic) DAMASCUS : A Syrian war monitor today said at least four Druze fighters were killed in clashes with security forces loyal to the Islamist government who stormed a Damascus suburb. The incident follows a wave of sectarian bloodshed last month, the worst since Islamist-led forces overthrew long-time president Bashar al-Assad in December, with massacres taking place largely in the Alawite coastal heartland over several days. 'Heavy clashes erupted in Jaramana after security forces and affiliated gunmen stormed' areas of the mostly Druze and Christian suburb, after 'the circulation of an audio recording, attributed to a Druze citizen, containing religious insults', said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said at least four Druze fighters were killed. A local news outlet meanwhile reported five local residents had been killed. The suburb is also home to families displaced by Syria's civil conflict which erupted in 2011. A Jaramana resident, requesting anonymity due to safety concerns, said the overnight clashes in one area of the suburb lasted around half an hour and were followed by intermittent gunfire and shelling. 'We were trapped in our homes as the sound of intermittent gunfire continued. The children have not gone to school and the streets of our neighbourhood are empty this morning,' the resident added. Jaramana's Druze religious leadership in a statement condemned 'the unjustified armed attack' that 'targeted innocent civilians and terrorised' residents. It said that the Syrian authorities bore 'full responsibility for the incident and for any further developments or worsening of the crisis'. An interior ministry statement early today emphasised 'the importance of adhering to public order and not being drawn into any behaviour… that would disrupt public security or threaten people or property'. 'Work is ongoing to identify' the individual behind the audio recording 'in order to bring them to justice'. Tensions began in Jaramana in late February with a fatal shooting at a checkpoint, followed a day later by clashes between security forces and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area, according to the observatory. Security forces deployed in the area in early March. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz at that time warned the new Islamist-led authorities not 'to harm the Druze' minority, which is also spread across Lebanon and Israel. Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the most pressing challenges for the new authorities after Assad's overthrow.
Al Arabiya
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Faith, fire, and fragmentation: The Druze dilemma in a New Syria
The fall of the Assad regime – long thought unimaginable – brought immense relief to millions of Syrians who had endured over five decades of repression. For those who rose in revolt in 2011, it felt like vindication. But what followed has not been a clean transition to democracy or stability. Instead, Syria is now ruled by a former jihadist-turned-president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose self-appointed government is viewed with deep suspicion by many of the country's minority groups. The recent détente between the new Syrian regime and the Trump administration – formalized during the US-Saudi summit in Riyadh – while giving the Syrian renewed hope has equally refocused attention on the country's delicate balance. The US announced a surprise lifting of sanctions on Syria. This was followed by a trilateral meeting between Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and President al-Sharaa. While the sanctions move was framed as a reset of regional relations, many religious and ethnic communities within Syria now fear that their fate will be sacrificed at the altar of geopolitical pragmatism. Chief among those resisting integration into this new political order are the Druze of Syria. A small, heterodox Muslim sect with influential communities in Lebanon and Israel, the Druze have openly refused to disarm or join the newly formed Syrian army. In the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana and Sehnaya, recent clashes between Druze militias and pro-government forces left dozens dead and prompted a rare Israeli airstrike – what Israel labeled as a 'warning shot' against forces planning to attack the Druze population. The immediate spark for this violence was a leaked audio recording, allegedly from a Druze cleric, interpreted by some Sunni factions as blasphemous. The result was swift and bloody retaliation. But the underlying tension runs far deeper, reflecting a growing fear among the Druze that Syria is falling into the grip of an extremist Sunni regime with little tolerance for religious diversity. The Druze community, estimated at just under a million people across the Levant and diaspora, now finds itself divided. In Lebanon, powerful Druze leader Walid Joumblatt has expressed concern over the accommodating tone adopted by Syrian Druze leaders, going so far as to publicly criticize Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, a top religious figure in Suwayda. Al-Hajari, notably, enjoys full support from Sheikh Mowaffak Tarif – the Druze spiritual authority in Israel. This internal split is uncharacteristic of a group that has historically prized unity, especially during times of regional upheaval. Joumblatt advocates for conforming to the dominant Sunni discourse, including remnants of Arab nationalism. But many within his community – and among Syrian Druze – disagree. Increasingly, voices are calling for international and even Israeli protection, casting the al-Sharaa regime as a wolf in moderate clothing. Adding fuel to this fire was a failed coup attempt in Syria's Alawite coastal regions. President al-Sharaa crushed the rebellion with brutal force, further alarming minority communities who now see armed suppression – not dialogue – as the new regime's default setting. While al-Sharaa has been publicly conciliatory toward the Druze, elements within his coalition reportedly view them as heretics, undeserving of political autonomy or protection. Israel, meanwhile, is paying close attention. The Israeli Druze – fully integrated into the state, serving in the army and often in elite units – have long been seen as loyal citizens. Security officials and military planners in Israel increasingly see value in aligning more directly with the Druze across the border. Political figures like Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Bezalel Smotrich have been less subtle: they frame support for the Syrian Druze as a means of weakening an adversary and bolstering their own political fortunes. Recent developments underscore this realignment. Last week, 500 Syrian Druze joined their Israeli counterparts on a pilgrimage to Nabi Shuʿayb, the tomb of the Prophet Jethro and the Druze faith's holiest site. Though primarily religious in nature, the visit carried undeniable political symbolism – a nod toward deepening ties and perhaps even open alliance. Still, the notion of a Druze secessionist state – an idea quietly whispered in some circles – is riddled with logistical and geopolitical obstacles. Suwayda, the main Druze enclave in southern Syria, is geographically isolated from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where the second-largest Druze population resides. Creating a viable, connected, and internationally recognized Druze entity is not only impractical – it risks provoking wider regional fragmentation, particularly among the Kurds, something Turkey will fiercely oppose. Perhaps those Druze who are eager to openly call for an alliance with Prime Minister Netanyahu should take a closer look at the limited nature of Israeli military support. Despite several airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force targeting the new Syrian army and affiliated factions, the attacks have caused minimal damage and have done little to prevent assaults on Druze villages outside the stronghold of Suwayda. Notably, as Druze fighters were fending off al-Sharaa's troops, the Turkish government granted Netanyahu's plane permission to fly through its airspace en route to Azerbaijan – a stark reminder of the dangers small communities face when placing their fate in the hands of shifting regional and international alliances. The Druze have long excelled at survival through pragmatism, leveraging their small numbers into outsized political influence by mastering the art of neutrality and adaptive loyalty. But in the volatile, post–October 7 Middle East, neutrality may no longer be a viable strategy. The collapse of al-Assad, the decline of Hezbollah, and the unraveling of Iran's regional hold have upended familiar power dynamics. This moment demands something more than quiet negotiation – it requires vision, bold alliances, and perhaps most critically, the courage to abandon old assumptions. In this context, the US reversal on sanctions sends a dangerous signal to Syria's vulnerable communities: that global powers may once again be willing to overlook domestic repression in exchange for regional stability. For the Druze, it confirms what many already suspect—that survival will depend less on promises from abroad and more on the hard choices they must make themselves. The Druze are now at a crossroads. The world around them is shifting fast. Whether they will once again emerge intact from the wreckage – or lose their place in the new order – depends not on history, but on the choices they make now.
Al Jazeera
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Syria's Druze divided as sectarian tensions linger after violence
Instability has plagued Syria in the past two weeks after fighting broke out in two of Damascus's suburbs and a southern governorate, drawing in government forces and non-state armed factions. Using the unrest as a pretext, Israel also launched attacks on several locations in Syria. The fighting and the Israeli attacks add to the difficulties faced by Syria's new government – which only came to power after the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad – as it attempts to rebuild Syria after nearly 14 years of war. The violence of that war has not fully subsided. Instead, the recent fighting has taken on a sectarian character, though locals also told Al Jazeera that some actors were motivated by power as they try to carve out spheres of influence in the new Syria. The recent clashes began on April 28 in the town of Jaramana, on the outskirts of Damascus, before spreading to nearby Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and the southern governorate of Sweida, where many of the country's Druze population live. All of the areas have significant Druze populations, and the violence began after attackers were incensed by a blasphemous audio recording criticising the Prophet Muhammad, attributed to a religious leader from the minority group. The religious leader denied the recording was in his voice, and an investigation by Syria's Ministry of the Interior has concurred. But it mattered little, as fighting between local armed Druze groups and outsiders began. The violence was followed by several Israeli attacks, including one near Syria's presidential palace in Damascus. Syria's government called it a 'dangerous escalation'. Israel's military has struck Syria hundreds of times since the fall of al-Assad, while Syria has yet to retaliate and has indicated that it has been involved in non-direct talks with Israel to calm the situation. Israel has attempted to portray its latest attacks in Syria as evidence that it is a defender of the Druze, many of whom live in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, saying the attack was 'a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow [Syrian] forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.' But many officials in Syria's Druze community have expressed an openness to working with the new authority in Damascus and denied Israel's overtures that claim to protect them. Sources told Al Jazeera that these recent clashes have not altered that view on Israel. 'Israel is protecting its own interests,' Ali Jarbou, a professor at Damascus University and a member of a prominent Druze family, told Al Jazeera. 'They are not protecting anyone. Not the Druze or anyone else.' Experts have said Israel prefers to have weak states on its borders, and is therefore attacking Syria to weaken the new government and prevent it from exercising its power over the whole country. Allying with regional minority groups may also appear attractive to some in Israel, although a similar strategy in the past, most notably in Lebanon during the 1975-1990 civil war, failed. But the Israeli government is also facing internal pressure to act from its own Druze community, the vast majority of whom are supportive of the Israeli state and serve in the Israeli army, despite being Arabic-speaking. The Druze community in the Middle East is split between Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and a small community in Jordan. They have played an influential role across these countries – in Syria, one of the leaders of the country's independence was a famous Druze named Sultan al-Atrash. Syria's Druze are mostly split between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, Sweida (in an area called Jabal al-Druze, or Mountain of the Druze), and a couple of Damascus's suburbs, while there is also a small community near Idlib. Syrians in the occupied Golan Heights live under Israeli authority but most have rejected offers of Israeli citizenship. They've also historically been able to keep ties to Syria, sometimes studying in Damascus or marrying across the border, according to Tobias Lang, director of the Austrian Centre for Peace, who has extensively studied the Druze community in the Levant. The Druze in Syria are, however, 'very fragmented politically', Lang said, due to years of life under the al-Assad dictatorship. 'No distinct Druze leadership was allowed to emerge, and the traditional leadership lost much of its power to the Baathist regime,' he said, referring to the Baath party, which ruled Syria from 1963 to 2024. During the war in Syria, competing voices emerged within the Druze community. Some, like Hikmat al-Hijri, the top Druze religious figure in Syria, initially supported the al-Assad regime. Others, like Wahid al-Balous, founder of the Men of Dignity Movement, split off from the regime much earlier and refused to send local men to die in support of the government. Al-Balous was later assassinated in 2015. Opposition figures blamed the regime. In 2023, when antigovernment protests erupted in Sweida, al-Hijri finally turned against al-Assad and supported the local opposition. Al-Hijri has also been sharply critical of the new Syrian authorities since the outbreak of violence last month, calling the attacks against the Druze a 'genocidal campaign'. 'We no longer trust a group that calls itself a government, because the government doesn't kill its own people through extremist gangs that are loyal to it, and after the massacre claims they are loose forces,' al-Hijri said. The Syrian government has denied any involvement in the attacks on the Druze, and has instead emphasised that its forces have sought to provide security and prevent any further sectarian attacks. Agreements struck between local actors and the new government at the start of this month have ended the fighting for now. But dozens of people had been killed, many civilians among them. In Jaramana, locals are still on high alert. 'We're scared of our neighbours,' a resident told Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity for fear of retaliation against them or their family. In the early days after the fall of al-Assad, places like Jaramana and Sweida were hesitant to work with the new Syrian government. Local leaders, some of whom are Druze notables, demanded a say in local governance and security matters. But members of the Druze community have now been working with the central authority in Damascus to calm tensions, resolve disputes, and negotiate security arrangements. Some of those agreements will see locals join the new government's internal security force and police their own areas under the central government's authority. Still, locals are on edge after the clashes and fear they could restart. Locals told Al Jazeera that some Syrians, particularly from minority sects like the Druze, have had their faith in the new central authority shaken. 'Trust [in the new government] began to decrease after the events on the coast,' Jarbou said, referring to attacks in early March on Alawite – another minority community – in the coastal region after government forces were attacked. Hundreds were killed, many of them civilians, and while the government quickly announced an investigation into the attacks, the violence provided evidence for those fearful of the new order in Syria. That is perhaps understandable after 14 years of war and more than five decades of brutal dictatorship. 'In other words, we can say that the war hasn't stopped,' Jarbou said, adding that a serious, participatory political solution is needed for the country. Should that not come to pass, the current pattern of clashes and increased communal tensions will only worsen. 'Sedition is raging,' he said. 'It's not that we're afraid of sedition. We're in sedition now.'
Arab News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
The bodies of a Belgian mother and her son were recovered in southern Jordan after flash flooding
Druze near Damascus resist demand to turn in arms as tensions boil JARAMANA, Syria: Druze residents near Syrian Arab Republic's capital are resisting a demand by the Islamist-led government to hand in their light weapons, saying authorities have yet to address fears of new attacks by Sunni Muslim militants after days of sectarian violence. Clashes last week pitted Sunni fighters against armed Druze residents of the town of Jaramana southeast of Damascus, later spreading to another district near the capital and then south to the predominantly Druze province of Sweida. Such violence threatens the new government's control of Syria, where armed gangs are attacking religious minorities and Israel is stepping up its military intervention under the banner of protecting the Druze community. Syrian authorities have negotiated deals to allow Druze fighters to protect their own areas as enlisted members of Syria's security forces, but this week asked that all weapons held by residents of these areas be turned in to the state. 'We told them, as soon as there is a state capable of regulating its forces, we'll have no problem handing in our weapons,' said Makram Obeid, a member of the Jaramana committee that is negotiating with the Syrian government. Obeid said his committee had told government officials it would be better for them to focus on disarming the gangs now harassing minorities. 'It's our right to be scared, because we saw what happened in other areas,' he told Reuters, an apparent reference to killings in March of hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority to which former President Bashar Assad belongs. It was the deadliest episode of sectarian violence in years in Syria, where a 14-year war ended last December when rebels toppled Assad, who fled to Russia. 'People want to feel safe. It's enough to have (more than) 11 years of killing, strikes, and worries,' Obeid said. 'And we're coming to another phase that we thought, with the collapse of the regime, would leave us in a much better place. But until now, we don't feel reassured.' Fahad Haydar, a resident of Jaramana, echoed those fears. 'These weapons that are turned against us — that's what we're afraid of. If those weapons get handed in, then we'll hand in ours,' he told Reuters. SEEKING GUARANTEES Mowaffaq Abu Shash, a Druze cleric in Jaramana, said the Druze had already compromised enough. 'We take one step, they ask for a second. We take the second step, they ask for a third,' he said. 'We ask for a guarantee that what happened on the coast will not happen to us.' One influential Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hajjri, has called for international intervention to protect his community from Syria's leaders, whom he has branded 'terrorists.' The Druze, an Arab minority sect who practice a religion originally derived from Islam, live in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel has vowed to protect Syria's Druze militarily if they face threats. Last week's violence was ignited by a voice recording purportedly cursing the Prophet Muhammad, which Sunni militants suspect was made by a Druze. More than a dozen people were killed in Jaramana before the violence spread west and south. It also drew in Israel, which carried out a drone strike on what it said were fighters preparing to attack Druze in the town of Sahnaya, west of Jaramana. A Syrian security source told Reuters one member of the security forces was killed in the strike. As the clashes reached Sweida province, Israel bombed near the presidential palace in Damascus — the clearest sign yet of its hostility toward Syria's new leaders. Syria's interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa once headed a branch of Al-Qaeda before renouncing ties to the group in 2016.
Arab News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UAE president stresses regional peace during meeting with Turkish foreign minister
Druze near Damascus resist demand to turn in arms as tensions boil JARAMANA, Syria: Druze residents near Syrian Arab Republic's capital are resisting a demand by the Islamist-led government to hand in their light weapons, saying authorities have yet to address fears of new attacks by Sunni Muslim militants after days of sectarian violence. Clashes last week pitted Sunni fighters against armed Druze residents of the town of Jaramana southeast of Damascus, later spreading to another district near the capital and then south to the predominantly Druze province of Sweida. Such violence threatens the new government's control of Syria, where armed gangs are attacking religious minorities and Israel is stepping up its military intervention under the banner of protecting the Druze community. Syrian authorities have negotiated deals to allow Druze fighters to protect their own areas as enlisted members of Syria's security forces, but this week asked that all weapons held by residents of these areas be turned in to the state. 'We told them, as soon as there is a state capable of regulating its forces, we'll have no problem handing in our weapons,' said Makram Obeid, a member of the Jaramana committee that is negotiating with the Syrian government. Obeid said his committee had told government officials it would be better for them to focus on disarming the gangs now harassing minorities. 'It's our right to be scared, because we saw what happened in other areas,' he told Reuters, an apparent reference to killings in March of hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority to which former President Bashar Assad belongs. It was the deadliest episode of sectarian violence in years in Syria, where a 14-year war ended last December when rebels toppled Assad, who fled to Russia. 'People want to feel safe. It's enough to have (more than) 11 years of killing, strikes, and worries,' Obeid said. 'And we're coming to another phase that we thought, with the collapse of the regime, would leave us in a much better place. But until now, we don't feel reassured.' Fahad Haydar, a resident of Jaramana, echoed those fears. 'These weapons that are turned against us — that's what we're afraid of. If those weapons get handed in, then we'll hand in ours,' he told Reuters. SEEKING GUARANTEES Mowaffaq Abu Shash, a Druze cleric in Jaramana, said the Druze had already compromised enough. 'We take one step, they ask for a second. We take the second step, they ask for a third,' he said. 'We ask for a guarantee that what happened on the coast will not happen to us.' One influential Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hajjri, has called for international intervention to protect his community from Syria's leaders, whom he has branded 'terrorists.' The Druze, an Arab minority sect who practice a religion originally derived from Islam, live in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel has vowed to protect Syria's Druze militarily if they face threats. Last week's violence was ignited by a voice recording purportedly cursing the Prophet Muhammad, which Sunni militants suspect was made by a Druze. More than a dozen people were killed in Jaramana before the violence spread west and south. It also drew in Israel, which carried out a drone strike on what it said were fighters preparing to attack Druze in the town of Sahnaya, west of Jaramana. A Syrian security source told Reuters one member of the security forces was killed in the strike. As the clashes reached Sweida province, Israel bombed near the presidential palace in Damascus — the clearest sign yet of its hostility toward Syria's new leaders. Syria's interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa once headed a branch of Al-Qaeda before renouncing ties to the group in 2016.
