Latest news with #HassanAbdel-Ghani
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Attacks on Syrian security forces sent to quell sectarian clashes leave 18 dead as Israel strikes targets to protect Druze
People on the back of a truck with a Druze flag and a man standing with a weapon nearby fire off rounds following clashes between local military groups and tribes in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, in this still image from an eyewitness video released on July 13, 2025 and obtained from social media. Social Media/via REUTERS DAMASCUS - At least 18 members of Syria's security forces have been killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, the Defence Ministry said, after they deployed to quell deadly sectarian clashes that had resumed on Monday, while Israel said it struck tanks in a town in the same province on the same day. Sunday's fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribal fighters was the first time that sectarian violence erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, following months of tensions in the broader province. Defence Ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdel-Ghani said in statements reported by Syrian state news agency SANA that a number of troops were also injured during attacks on military points by "outlawed groups". Earlier, the ministry said in a statement to Reuters that these groups, who it did not identify further, had attacked a number of its units at dawn. It said its forces responded to the attacks and had pursued the groups that refused to halt hostilities and continued to target security forces. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it attacked several tanks in a town in Sweida. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were a "clear warning to the Syrian regime", adding that Israel would not allow harm to the Druze living in Syria. Close ties between the Israeli state and its 120,000 Druze citizens, strengthened by the fact that Druze men serve in the Israel Defense Forces, are one of the reasons for Israel's deepening involvement in Syria. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat The fighting on Sunday left 30 people dead and prompted Syria's security forces to deploy units to the city to restore calm and guarantee safe passage for civilians looking to leave, the defence ministry said in earlier statements. But intense clashes broke out again on Monday, local news outlet Sweida24 reported. Another security source said that Syrian troops would aim to exert state control over the whole province to prevent any more violence, but that this could take several days. It marked the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces. Sunni Muslim Arab rebel groups which fought Assad during the war agreed in December to dissolve into the Defence Ministry but efforts to integrate armed factions from minority groups - including Druze and Kurds - have largely stalled. In southern Syria, efforts have been further complicated by Israel's stated policy that it would not allow Syria's new army to deploy south of Damascus and that Sweida and neighbouring provinces should make up a demilitarized zone. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a written statement carried on state media that the "absence of state institutions, especially military and security institutions, is a major cause of the ongoing tensions in Sweida and its countryside." Sunday's violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said. REUTERS
Boston Globe
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Syria's government signs a breakthrough deal with Kurdish-led authorities in the northeast
The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports, and oil fields in the northeast under the central government's control. Advertisement The deal also says all Syrians will be part of the political process, no matter their religion or ethnicity. Syria's new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with other minority communities, notably the Earlier Monday, Syria's government announced the end of the The Defense Ministry's announcement came after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Latakia on Thursday spiraled into widespread clashes across Syria's coastal region. The Assad family are Alawites. 'To the remaining remnants of the defeated regime and its fleeing officers, our message is clear and explicit,' said Defense Ministry spokesperson Colonel Hassan Abdel-Ghani. 'If you return, we will also return, and you will find before you men who do not know how to retreat and who will not have mercy on those whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent.' Advertisement Abdel-Ghani said security forces will continue searching for sleeper cells and remnants of the insurgency of former government loyalists. Though the government's counter-offensive was able to largely contain the insurgency, footage surfaced of what appeared to be retaliatory attacks targeting the broader minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose adherents live mainly in the western coastal region. Sajid Allah Al-Deek, a security official in the coastal region, told the Associated Press that security forces were deployed in the area from the Latakia governorate to Jableh and that the coastal highway is functioning again after being closed because of the fighting. 'The civilians have begun returning to their homes,' Al-Deek said, adding that authorities have started detaining those blamed for acts of violence. Imad Baytar said his father, who worked for a taxi company, had gone from Jableh to Damascus and on his way back over the weekend, 'he was killed in the checkpoint.' Baytar blamed Assad supporters for the killing. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said 1,130 people were killed in the clashes, including 830 civilians. The AP could not independently verify these numbers. Al-Sharaa said the retaliatory attacks against Alawite civilians and mistreatment of prisoners were isolated incidents and vowed to crack down on the perpetrators as he formed a committee to investigate. Still, the events alarmed Western governments, who have been urged to lift economic sanctions on Syria. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement Sunday urged Syrian authorities to 'hold the perpetrators of these massacres' accountable. Rubio said the United States 'stands with Syria's religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities.' Advertisement
