Latest news with #tribalconflict
France 24
5 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Clashes, homes torched in south Syria's Sweida despite ceasefire
Just hours earlier, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had announced an immediate ceasefire, but Bedouins and tribal fighters who are allied with the Syrian authorities pushed on in the west of the Druze-majority city. "Go forward, tribes!" said fighter Abu Jassem, addressing fellow combatants in the area, where the streets were largely deserted. "We will slaughter them in their homes," he said, referring to the Druze. The tribal fighters have converged on Sweida from other parts of Syria to support the Bedouins who have been clashing with Druze fighters since July 13. The violence has killed at least 940 people, according to a monitor. An AFP correspondent on Saturday saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them. Some fighters, their faces covered, opened fire in the streets with automatic weapons while others moved around on vehicles and motorbikes. One fighter wore a black band around his head that bore the Islamic profession of faith. Another was carrying scissors, after footage in recent days showed fighters cutting the moustaches of Druze elderly and clergy, a grave insult to members of the minority community. The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are regarded at best with suspicion by more hard-line Sunni Islamists who count among the ranks of Syria's new authorities. 'Nothing left' In Sweida city, where around 150,000 people live, residents have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water. Food supplies are scarce despite repeated appeals for humanitarian assistance, and communications have largely been cut off. Near the city's main hospital, an AFP photographer said bloated bodies were being taken for burial in a nearby pit as the morgue was overflowing. A doctor had told AFP that the facility had received more than 400 bodies. Security forces on Saturday were deploying in the province with the stated aim of protecting civilians and ending the chaos. Near a village north of Sweida, an AFP correspondent saw government forces deploying at a checkpoint and seeking in vain to prevent armed tribal fighters from advancing. Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told AFP in the province's north that security forces were deploying "to protect public and private property and guarantee the security of civilians". Government forces were to "supervise the withdrawal of the tribes that were in battle with outlaw groups," he added, referring to Druze fighters. An AFP correspondent said some tribal fighters withdrew from the city on Saturday afternoon, and also reported armed men dragging bodies from a street. According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced at least 87,000 people. One resident of the city who fled days earlier told AFP that "We have nothing left." "Most of the people we know -- our relatives and friends -- are dead," said the resident, requesting anonymity due to the security situation. "Sweida has been destroyed, and we are trying to keep our families away until this madness ends." strs-lar/lg/ami © 2025 AFP
Al Bawaba
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Flashpoint Sweida: Government Gears up as clashes rage between tribes and militias
ALBAWABA - There were fierce fights in and around the city of Sweida in southern Syria between clan fighters and armed groups that the government called "outlaws." This led the Syrian Interior Ministry to call for immediate help. According to reports in the area, tribal troops moved into some parts of Sweida before pulling back early Friday morning. They then regrouped around the city to wait for help from other tribe areas in Syria. The violence got worse after attacks on Bedouin villages made things worse. As the leader of Syria's Tribal and Clans Council, Sheikh Abdul Moneim Al-Nassif called for all tribes to rush to Sweida to "rescue civilians" from what he called a killing of local Bedouins. As a result, the Interior Ministry has started to send in troops to restore order and protect the people living there, according to a Syrian security source who stated that they had received requests from people in the province. Tribal fighters had earlier started a counteroffensive in western rural Sweida, retaking towns like Taara, Al-Dour, and Al-Mazraa. This was done in response to claims that Druze armed groups attacked Bedouins after the government pulled its troops out. According to state media, illegal groups attacked the Maqous neighborhood, which was home to Bedouin families. They killed and hurt many citizens, including women and children. Bedouins' homes and neighborhoods were also set on fire. Along with the over 500 families who have left their homes because of violence and damage, more than 1,000 Bedouin people are said to be being held in the town of Shahba. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, a well-known Druze imam, asked the Syrian government to send in military troops to stop more killing. He said in a video message that no one group should be blamed for the bloodshed and that unity and tolerance were very important. Syria troops quit Druze heartland after violence leaves over 500 dead. The city of Sweida was desolate on Thursday, AFP correspondents on the ground report, with shops looted, homes burnt and bodies in the streetshttps://
RNZ News
30-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Call for action against violence in Papua New Guinea
Satellite map view of Enga Province in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Google Maps A journalist says people in Papua New Guinea want action to violence - not just the usual condemnation from leaders. Another gruesome video is circulating social media from Enga Province, which has a recent history of tribal conflict. RNZ Pacific correspondent Scott Waide said people are calling on their leaders to act. "A lot of them are asking why we keep having this kind of violence in the province and being recorded on social media," he said. "Some people have been questioning why we've introduced anti-terror laws and yet it's being slow to be implemented in the district." He said the video came from Kompiam-Ambun, the electorate of former speaker Sir John Pundari. "There's been no political responses yet, the police have indicated that there are looking into it but the responses, as usual, will come a few days later. "They don't want [just] the usual condemnation; they want condemnation and action arrests." Waide said police have found it difficult to go into heavily armed villages and make the arrests. "We had an incident last week where a PNG Defence Force unit had to fight its way out of an ambush. "The total number of police killed so far since 2017, and I've counted this myself, is between 20 and 25 officers killed, either shot or stabbed or ambushed." He said the legislation is there to tackle the outbreaks of conflict. "They've increased the penalties for gun possession, illegal possession of firearms; they've increased the penalties for drugs. "It's not just the implementation; it's the resourcing that will allow for the implementation to happen, for the enforcement to happen. "It's a complex area that government is trying to deal with, but the results will take a few years."
RNZ News
30-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Call for action against violence in PNG
Satellite map view of Enga Province in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Google Maps A journalist says people in Papua New Guinea want action to violence - not just the usual condemnation from leaders. Another gruesome video is circulating social media from Enga Province, which has a recent history of tribal conflict. RNZ Pacific correspondent Scott Waide said people are calling on their leaders to act. "A lot of them are asking why we keep having this kind of violence in the province and being recorded on social media," he said. "Some people have been questioning why we've introduced anti-terror laws and yet it's being slow to be implemented in the district." He said the video came from Kompiam-Ambun, the electorate of former speaker Sir John Pundari. "There's been no political responses yet, the police have indicated that there are looking into it but the responses, as usual, will come a few days later. "They don't want [just] the usual condemnation; they want condemnation and action arrests." Waide said police have found it difficult to go into heavily armed villages and make the arrests. "We had an incident last week where a PNG Defence Force unit had to fight its way out of an ambush. "The total number of police killed so far since 2017, and I've counted this myself, is between 20 and 25 officers killed, either shot or stabbed or ambushed." He said the legislation is there to tackle the outbreaks of conflict. "They've increased the penalties for gun possession, illegal possession of firearms; they've increased the penalties for drugs. "It's not just the implementation; it's the resourcing that will allow for the implementation to happen, for the enforcement to happen. "It's a complex area that government is trying to deal with, but the results will take a few years."
