Israel strikes military tanks in Syria's Sweida as death toll from clashes rises to 89 - Region

Al-Ahram Weekly

18 hours ago

Israel's army said Monday it has struck military tanks in southern Syria as Syrian government forces and Bedouin tribes clashed with Druze militias there, as reported by AP.
Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between Syrian Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes in Syria's Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order Monday also clashed with local armed groups, according to AP.
At least 89 people have been killed in ongoing clashes, a monitor said Monday, as security forces were deployed to quell the violence.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that "46 Druze fighters, four civilians from Sweida, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel, and seven unidentified individuals in military uniform were among the dead".
The clashes in Syria initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory said, with some members of the government security forces 'actively participating' in support of the Bedouins.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said government forces entered Sweida in the early morning to restore order.
'Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,' he told the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.
The observatory said the clashes started after a series of kidnappings between both groups, which began when members of a Bedouin tribe in the area set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a young Druze man.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
Syria's defense and interior ministries were deploying personnel to the area to attempt to restore order.
The Interior Ministry described the situation as a dangerous escalation that 'comes in the absence of the relevant official institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos, the deterioration of the security situation, and the inability of the local community to contain the situation despite repeated calls for calm.'
In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters earlier this year in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement at the time that Israel 'will not allow the deployment of (Syrian government) forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.'
Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
Factions from the Druze minority have been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus after former President Bashar Assad fled the country in December during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions.
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