Syrian Forces Enter Druze City After Deadly Clashes
The southern city had been under the control of armed factions from the Druze minority, whose religious leaders said they had approved the deployment of Damascus's troops and called on fighters to hand over their weapons.
A curfew was to be imposed on the southern city in a bid to halt the violence, which erupted at the weekend and has since spread across Sweida governorate.
Government forces said they intervened to separate the two sides but ended up taking control of several Druze areas around Sweida, an AFP correspondent reported.
Military columns were seen advancing toward Sweida on Tuesday morning, with heavy artillery deployed nearby.
The defence ministry said later that they had entered the city, and urged people to "stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups".
An AFP correspondent heard explosions and gunshots as soldiers moved into Sweida.
Troops had begun heading towards the city on Monday, taking control of at least one Druze village, with one Druze faction saying talks were underway with the Damascus government.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported 99 people killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday -- 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms.
The defence ministry reported 18 deaths among the ranks of the armed forces.
While Druze religious authorities had called on Monday evening for a ceasefire and said they didn't oppose the central government, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the three Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida, opposed the arrival of the security forces and called for "international protection".
Israel, which has attempted to portray itself as a protector of the Druze in Syria and sees them as potential allies, bombed several Syrian tanks on Monday.
The strikes were "a clear warning to the Syrian regime -- we will not allow harm to be done to the Druze in Syria", said Defence Minister Israel Katz, whose country has its own Druze population.
The fighting underscores the challenges facing interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose Islamist forces ousted president Bashar al-Assad in December after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Syria's pre-war Druze population was estimated at around 700,000, many of them concentrated in Sweida province.
The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
Following deadly clashes with government forces in April and May, local and religious leaders reached an agreement with Damascus under which Druze fighters had been providing security in the province.
"We lived in a state of extreme terror -- the shells were falling randomly," said Abu Taym, a 51-year-old father.
Amal, a 46-year-old woman, said: "We fear a repeat of the coastal scenario", referring to massacres in March of more than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians in northwest Syria, where groups affiliated with the government were blamed for most of the killings.
"We are not against the state, but we are against surrendering our weapons without a state that treats everyone the same," she added.
In a post on X, Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra urged his troops to "protect your fellow citizens" from "outlaw gangs", and to "restore stability to Sweida".
The violence began on Sunday when Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable vendor on the highway to Damascus, prompting retaliatory kidnappings.
The Observatory said members of Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslims, had sided with security forces during earlier confrontations with the Druze.
Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, and violence occasionally erupts between the two sides. The fighting has killed around 100 people in the southern Syrian region AFP Israel, which says it is protecting the Druze, launched strikes on Syrian government forces AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Former Nigerian President Buhari Buried At Family Compound
Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari was buried at his home in northwestern Katsina state Tuesday, with the multiple heads of state in attendance guarded by a heavy security detail. Thousands of Nigerians gathered for public prayers in the town of Daura before the former leader was laid to rest in private at his family compound, which had been bustling with mourners paying their respects since his death over the weekend. Buhari, who died at the age of 82 in a London clinic on Sunday, ruled Nigeria first as a military strongman in the 1980s and then later as a self-described "converted democrat", serving two terms as president from 2015 to 2023. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, Africa's wealthiest billionaire Aliko Dangote, the president of Guinea-Bissau and prime minister of Niger, as well as former Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou were all in attendance, local media reported. The presence of Niger's Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine came after his country and Nigeria saw diplomatic relations deteriorate since a 2023 coup overthrew Niamey's civilian leaders. As Buhari's body made its way from England to Daura, less than 20 kilometres (about 10 miles) from the Niger border, a massive security presence of police, soldiers and plainclothes officers was deployed in the usually sleepy town. Nigeria, particularly in the north, has for years suffered attacks from insurgent jihadists and armed criminal gangs. Although he was elected on a mandate for change, Buhari's time in office failed to put an end to the violence. He made history in 2015 as the first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent leader at the ballot box. But Buhari was accused of squandering both political opportunity and popular goodwill in his time at the helm. Economic woes further dogged the oil giant during his tenure, while poverty, corruption and inequality remain entrenched. He retained a reputation for personal austerity, however -- a rarity in cash-soaked Nigerian politics. "Baba will be remembered for his honesty," mourner Kabir Ibrahim told AFP. Images broadcast from inside the family compound showed a military band playing a final send-off for Buhari, whose remains were draped in the green-and-white Nigerian flag, as soldiers saluted and mourners dressed in colourful kaftans bowed their heads. Young men climbed trees overlooking the courtyard to catch a glimpse of the final rites. The flag was removed and his body, draped in white, was buried. Security ahead of the internment was so tight that Buhari's family members found themselves locked out of the family compound Tuesday afternoon, including Fatima Isah, who said she was the ex-president's 78-year-old niece. "Buhari was my provider, but he is no more. To add to my torment, they have refused me entry," said Isah, in between sobs. Muttaqa Mahmud Bebeji, a civil servant, travelled 150 kilometres from the city of Kano to pay his respects among the "sea of the people," calling Buhari "irreplaceable." Despite harsh criticisms of Buhari's presidency, Daura welcomed him home. "Buhari was an upright man who did his best for Nigeria, but he was human and prone to shortcomings," Nasiru Abdullahi, a 35-year-old tyre mechanic, told AFP on the eve of the funeral.
Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
In Backing Brazil's Bolsonaro, Trump May Be Helping Lula
US President Donald Trump's backing for a far-right Brazilian ally could inadvertently boost leftist President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's flagging political fortunes, analysts say. Brazilians on both sides of the political aisle have been angered by a threatened 50 percent tariff on exports to the US -- a penalty for what Trump calls a "witch hunt" against ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup against Lula, who narrowly beat him in a bitter 2022 election that deeply divided voters in the South American powerhouse. Lula's popularity has tanked amid persistent inflation, anger over an alleged social security scam to defraud retirees, and a proposal to raise tax on financial transactions. But he seems to have been bolstered by Washington's threats: rallying Brazilians against a common meddlesome enemy. "Trump gave Lula a great gift," analyst Andre Cesar of the HOLD marketing consultancy told AFP. Rejecting US "interference," Lula's administration has launched a patriotic campaign under the slogan: "Brazil ('Brasil' in Portuguese) is written with an S for Sovereignty." The former trade unionist has been sporting a baseball cap with the words "Brazil belongs to Brazilians," and made fun of Trump at a recent event by offering to send him a local fruit as a treatment against "bad mood" and "tariff fights." Lula is also strategizing with leaders of industry and agribusiness who stand to lose much in a tariff war, but are traditionally allies in Bolsonaro's conservative "Bibles, bullets and beef" coalition. "Lula taxes the rich, Bolsonaro taxes Brazilians," rings another slogan adopted by the administration in Brasilia. The president's entourage has been relishing an apparent political boon from the threatened tariff they nevertheless hope will never come to pass. "Bolsonarismo wants to hold Brazil hostage to save Bolsonaro. It's great" for the left, a member of Lula's team told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to the movement named after the ex-president's supporters. "Now we need to make the most of it until next year," when Brazil goes to the polls to elect a president for the next four years. Lula, 79, has not said whether he will seek reelection. Bolsonaro, for his part, has been ruled ineligible to hold office by a court that found him guilty of spreading misinformation about Brazil's electoral system. On the back foot, few in Brazil's political right welcomed the tariff move despite having agitated for US measures against Lula's administration and the courts for their "persecution" of Bolsonaro. Among the rare defenders was congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro -- the former president's son -- who wrote: "Thank you President Trump. Make Brazil Free Again," in an all-caps social media post after the US president's own writing style. Bolsonaro himself was more guarded in his response, and at pains to stress he was "not happy" about the tariff pain Brazilian producers would suffer. Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio de Freitas -- a possible 2026 right-wing presidential candidate -- also toned down his usual antagonism towards Lula to call for "joint efforts" against US tariffs that would inflict deep pain on Brazil's richest state and its lucrative aerospace industry. Geraldo Monteiro, a political science professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said Trump's threats "may have shifted the game" by "further isolating the far-right" in Brazil. "There was an unexpected convergence of interests between Lula's government and the business class, in addition to a convergence of the political class to align with Lula," he told AFP. A sign branding Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro 'Enemies of the people' at a protest in Sao Paulo AFP This handout picture from the Brazilian presidency shows Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wearing a cap with the words: 'Brazil belongs to Brazilians' AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Syrian Druze Say Govt Mission Of Peace Devolved Into Rampage
The mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes. Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighbourhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee. "Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order... but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices," said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website. "There have been cases of civilians being killed... dozens of them... but we don't have precise figures," he added, blaming government fighters and their allies. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area. Syria's defence minister had declared a "complete ceasefire" in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground. An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out. "I'm in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting," one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone. "One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it," added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people. Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes "looting shops and setting fire to them". "They're firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house," he said, adding that he regretted "not leaving before they arrived". It is a scenario that has played out multiple times since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in December. In each case, former rebels recruited into the new Syrian army were joined by fighters without any clear uniform, and violence against civilians ensued. The worst episode was in March, when more than 1,700 civilians were killed along Syria's Mediterranean coast -- most of them members of the ousted president's Alawite community -- in attacks carried out by government forces and their allies. On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week. But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze. One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration. The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hardline Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous. Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community. The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida. An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city centre that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides. The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals. Thousands of the city's residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said. In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque. Syria's security forces and their allies were accused of going on a rampage after being deployed to the mainly Druze city of Sweida AFP Some residents reported houses and shops torched as government forces and their allies entered town AFP
