Latest news with #postwar
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Poland – At a crossroads of ideologies
Pinch Point Poland is increasingly seen as the gateway between eastern and western Europe. Post-war Poland has enjoyed proper independence now for little more than 35 years. And it wants to keep it that way. But there are external pressures which Poles believe put them under very real threat. Video Duration 04 minutes 56 seconds 04:56 Video Duration 04 minutes 45 seconds 04:45 Video Duration 00 minutes 43 seconds 00:43 Video Duration 05 minutes 59 seconds 05:59 Video Duration 05 minutes 30 seconds 05:30 Video Duration 05 minutes 58 seconds 05:58 Video Duration 05 minutes 27 seconds 05:27
CTV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Syria's Druze fear for their future after sectarian clashes
Burned vehicles sit on a street Monday, July 21, 2025, after clashes between Bedouin clans and Druze militias in Sweida, Syria. (AP Photo/Fahd Kiwan) DAMASCUS, Syria — Before the eruption of sectarian violence in southern Syria, Saber Abou Ras taught medical sciences at a university in the city of Sweida and was somewhat hopeful of a better future for his country as it emerged from nearly 14 years of civil war. Now, like many others in the Druze-majority city in southern Syria, he carries arms and refuses to give them up to the government. He sees little hope for the united Syria he recently thought was in reach. 'We are for national unity, but not the unity of terrorist gangs,' Abou Ras, a Druze, told The Associated Press in a phone call from the battered city. Clashes broke out last week that were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters with the Druze religious minority. The violence killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. Syrian government forces intervened to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Disturbing videos and reports soon surfaced of Druze civilians being humiliated and executed, sometimes accompanied by sectarian slurs. One showed gunmen in military uniform asking an unarmed man about his identity. When he replies that he is Syrian, the gunmen demand, 'What do you mean Syrian? Are you Sunni or Druze?' When the man says he is Druze, the men open fire, killing him. Hossam Saraya, a Syrian-American Druze from Oklahoma, was shown in another video, kneeling with his brother, father, and at least three other relatives, before a group of men in military garb sprayed them with automatic fire and celebrated. A religious sect with roots in Islam The Druze religious sect is an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Outsiders are not allowed to convert, and most religious practices are shrouded in secrecy. There are roughly a million Druze worldwide and more than half of them live in Syria. The others live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Though a small community within Syria's population of more than 20 million, Sweida's Druze take pride in their involvement in liberating the country from Ottoman and later French colonial rule, and establishing the present-day Syrian state. During the uprising-turned-civil war that started in 2011, Druze leaders reached a fragile agreement with former President Bashar Assad that gave Sweida semi-autonomy, leaving the minority group to protect its own territory instead of serving in the Syrian military. Most Druze celebrated Assad's fall The Druze largely welcomed the fall of Assad in December in a rebel offensive that ended decades of autocratic rule by the Assad dynasty. The Druze were largely skeptical of the Islamist background of Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, especially as he once led the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. But many, including influential clerics, supported diplomatically engaging with the new leadership. Among those more hostile towards al-Sharaa is spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and a faction of Druze militias called the Sweida Military Council. There were intense divisions between them and others in the Druze community for months. Previous clashes between Druze armed groups and government forces were resolved before the violence could escalate. A security agreement was reached between the Druze and Damascus in May that was intended to bring about long-term calm. But the recent clashes and sectarian attacks in Sweida have upset that balance, and many Druze appear to have lost hope in reaching a fair settlement diplomatically. Sectarian violence after the fall of Assad Many Druze see the government's attacks as an extension of a wave of sectarian violence that broke out months ago on Syria's coast. Clashes between the new government's forces and Assad loyalists spiraled into revenge killings targeting members of the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs. A government investigation into the coastal violence found that more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, and that members of the security forces were implicated in the attacks. The difference in Sweida, as Abou Ras, the Druze medical sciences professor, sees it, is that the Druze had their own armed factions that were able to fight back. 'They talked about respecting minorities and the different components of Syria,' he said. 'But what happened at the coast was a hard lesson for Syrians, and we learned from it.' The interim president denies that Druze are being targeted After the violence in Sweida, Al-Sharaa vowed to hold perpetrators to account, and restated his promises since taking power that he will not exclude Syria's minority groups. He and other officials have insisted that they are not targeting the Druze, but armed factions that are challenging state authority, namely those led by al-Hijri. Al-Sharaa also accused Israel of trying to exacerbate divisions in the country by launching airstrikes on government forces in the province, which Israel said was in defense of the Druze. The tensions have already created new challenges to forging national unity. Other minority groups — particularly the Kurdish forces controlling Syria's northeast, who have been in negotiations with Damascus to merge with the new national army — are reconsidering surrendering their weapons after seeing the violence in Sweida. A Syrian Druze who lived abroad for over 20 years was in Syria when Assad fell and celebrated with friends and family on the streets of Sweida. He quit his job to move back and be involved with the community. He joined in with people who waved Syria's new flag that symbolized the uprising, danced, and stepped on torn portraits of Assad. He said he wanted al-Sharaa to be successful, but now he doesn't see a peaceful future for Syria's different ethnic and religious groups with him at the helm. 'In every household (in Sweida), someone has died,' he told the AP. The Associated Press could not confirm that independently as there was no official death toll. However, it was a sentiment frequently shared by Syrians from Sweida. He asked to have his name and other identifying details withheld out of fear for his and his family's safety. 'I think after the massacres that happened, there is not a single person in Sweida that wants anything to do with this government, unfortunately,' he said. 'This government butchered people, and butchered any possibility to (bring) reconciliation and harmonize the south.' ___ Kareem Chehayeb And Abdulrahman Shaheen, The Associated Press Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Interior Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Khartoum Secure, Police Deployed Across Capital
Sudan's Interior Minister Babiker Samra has urged residents who fled the capital during the war to return, saying Khartoum is now secure following a major police deployment across the city. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Samra said the return of displaced citizens would help reinforce security, noting that "some armed groups operate in deserted neighborhoods with low civilian presence." "There's no place on earth entirely free of crime, but we are now in a post-war phase, and the police have complete control over the capital and other areas," he said, adding that residents should report any assaults to the police, whose stations now operate around the clock. Sudanese forces recaptured Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in May, after more than two years of fighting that devastated the city and forced millions to flee. The war, which erupted on April 15, 2023, between the army and the RSF, turned Khartoum and surrounding cities like Omdurman into battlegrounds. Samra dismissed reports that armed groups disguised in military uniforms were still threatening civilians, saying such groups had been neutralized. "The regular forces are disciplined and protect citizens from criminal gangs," he said. Crackdown on antiquities smuggling The minister also revealed that foreign nationals were arrested in the northern city of Atbara attempting to smuggle Sudanese antiquities out of the country. They are now facing trial, though Samra declined to specify their nationalities or intended destination. "These individuals are part of a criminal network specialized in antiquities theft," he said. The RSF had previously been accused of looting Sudan's national museums during the war, with artifacts dating back thousands of years allegedly stolen or destroyed. Samra pledged to recover smuggled antiquities through cooperation with Interpol. "We are receiving important updates and expect to retrieve key items soon," he said, blaming the RSF for attempting to alter Sudan's demographic and cultural identity by targeting universities and museums. A joint committee from the criminal investigation department and the Ministry of Culture has been formed to catalogue looted artifacts and open official cases. "We've shared our findings with Interpol," Samra said. Rebuilding police infrastructure The minister said restoring damaged police stations targeted by what he called "terrorist militias" remains a key challenge, though some facilities have already been rehabilitated. He said the Interior Ministry has resumed operations in Khartoum, with 98 out of 101 police stations back online and equipped with both static and mobile patrols. "When the war broke out, police were present in the capital. But after our facilities were destroyed, we had to relocate forces to safer areas like Karari locality," he added. Khartoum has seen a gradual return of displaced residents from other states, despite ongoing violence in parts of the country. The army-aligned government, which relocated to the coastal city of Port Sudan early in the war, has been working to restore basic services and bury the dead. Monumental rebuilding task Prime Minister Kamal Idris vowed Saturday to rebuild Khartoum, during his first visit to the capital since taking office in May. Touring the destroyed airport, bridges, and water stations, Idris unveiled ambitious reconstruction plans aimed at encouraging millions of displaced residents to return. "Khartoum will rise again as a proud national capital," he declared. Army chief and head of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, also arrived at the airport, which was retaken by the army in March after nearly two years under RSF control. The government has estimated the total cost of rebuilding Sudan at $700 billion, with Khartoum alone accounting for nearly half that amount. Idris later visited the destroyed al-Jaili refinery north of the capital, promising its restoration. The facility, once processing 100,000 barrels per day, was recaptured in January, but repairs are expected to take years and cost at least $1.3 billion. Meanwhile, the government continues to remove unexploded ordnance and reestablish administrative services in the devastated city, underscoring the immense task of rebuilding Sudan's capital from the ruins of war.
CBC
20-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
After week of clashes, Syria's armed Bedouins say they have left Druze-majority city
Social Sharing Syria's armed Bedouin clans on Sunday announced that they had withdrawn from the southern city of Sweida following over a week of clashes, as per a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement. The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans have killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition. Israel has also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. A series of tit-for-tat kidnappings sparked the clashes in various towns and villages in the province, which later spread to the city. Government forces were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday, before withdrawing again. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city, saying that they "cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security." "We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state's orders," he said in an address broadcast Saturday. The Bedouins' withdrawal brought a cautious calm to the area, with humanitarian convoys reportedly on their way. The Syrian Red Crescent said Sunday they are sending 32 trucks to Sweida loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel and other aid, after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages. Syrian state media SANA said that the Health Ministry is also sending a convoy of trucks. Washington's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said the clashes and atrocities "overshadowed" an initial cautious optimism about the country's post-war transition and the international community's lifting of sanctions. "All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance," Barrack said on X. "Syria stands at a critical juncture — peace and dialogue must prevail — and prevail now."' WATCH | Syrian government will protect Druze, leader says: Syria's interim president promises to protect Druze citizens following Israeli strikes 3 days ago Dozens of Druze civilians were killed in a series of targeted attacks in the city at the hands of Bedouin fighters and government forces. Videos also surfaced online of fighters destroying portraits of Druze religious officials and notables in homes, and shaving the mustaches of elderly Druze, seen as an insult to culture and tradition. Druze militiamen in return attacked Bedouin-majority areas in the outskirts of the province, forcing families to flee to the neighbouring Daraa province. More than half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Syria's Druze largely celebrated the downfall of the Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule. While they had concerns about Al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule, a large number wanted to approach matters diplomatically. However, the the recent clashes have made a growing number of Druze in the area more skeptical about Damascus' new leadership and more doubtful of peaceful coexistence.
Bloomberg
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Syria's Bedouins Say They Withdrew From Sweida After Clashes
By Updated on Save MAZRAA, Syria (AP) — Syria's armed Bedouin clans on Sunday announced that they had withdrawn from the southern city of Sweida following over a week of clashes, as per a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement. The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition. Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins.
