Latest news with #Sunni Bedouin
News24
a day ago
- Health
- News24
Bodies wait to be identified at overwhelmed hospital in Syria's Sweida
Clashes erupted on 13 July in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida between local fighters and Sunni Bedouin, spiralling and drawing in government forces, tribal allies of the Bedouin and the military of neighbouring Israel. More than 1 100 people, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, whose toll also includes several hundred government security personnel. Health authorities have not released a comprehensive death toll. At the main hospital in south Syria's Sweida city, dozens of bodies are still waiting to be identified as the death count of days of sectarian clashes continues to rise. "We have handed 361 bodies over to family members, but we still have 97 unidentified corpses," a forensic medicine official at facility said on condition of anonymity. Clashes erupted on 13 July in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida between local fighters and Sunni Bedouin, spiralling and drawing in government forces, tribal allies of the Bedouin and the military of neighbouring Israel. Witnesses, Druze factions and a monitor have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida last week. More than 1 100 people, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, whose toll also includes several hundred government security personnel. Health authorities have not released a comprehensive death toll. More than 450 bodies had been taken to Sweida's main hospital by Sunday evening, while bodies were still being collected from streets and homes in the city. "The dead bodies sent a terrible smell through all the floors of the hospital," said nurse Hisham Breik, who said he had not left the facility since the violence began. "The situation has been terrible. We couldn't walk around the hospital without wearing a mask," he said, his voice trembling, adding that the wounded included women, children and the elderly. Medical personnel have been working in tough conditions at the hospital, which has seen clashes around it and has been flooded with wounded, some of whom were lying in the corridors. Bodies have yet to be removed from villages in Sweida province's north and west, the hospital administration and health workers said. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that hospitals and health centres in Sweida province were out of service, with "reports of unburied bodies raising serious public health concerns". Humanitarian access to Sweida "remains highly constrained", it said a statement late Sunday. The Sweida national hospital has remained open despite the dire situation that has also included supply shortages and water and power cuts. 'Catastrophe' A first Syrian Red Crescent convoy entered Sweida on Sunday carrying UN humanitarian assistance including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, OCHA said. A Red Crescent official told AFP the supplies included body bags. Another convoy facilitated by the Red Crescent was to leave Damascus on Monday, OCHA said. But as the supplies were unloaded on Sunday, activist Moatasem Aflak, who works for a body affiliated with the Sweida health department, told AFP that the aid "doesn't cover everything required". "We received water and medical supplies, but we need more because we are facing a medical catastrophe," he said, adding that a list of requirements had been handed to the Red Crescent. "We haven't yet been able to count the bodies" and some families have been unable to arrive to identify their loved ones, Aflak said. "We are trying to cooperate with the Red Crescent to put the bodies in bags and establish a mass grave to transfer them to," he added. According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult.
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Syria forces deploy in Druze heartland after US brokers deal with Israel
Israel had bombed defence ministry forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze civilians during their brief deployment in the southern province. More than 700 people have been killed in Sweida since Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Sunni Bedouin drew in the Islamist-led government, Israel and armed tribes from other parts of Syria. The office of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced an "immediate ceasefire" in Sweida which it called on "all parties to fully respect". But AFP correspondents in and around the city reported gunfire and sporadic rocket fire and explosions as Druze fighters battled armed Bedouin who had seized some neighbourhoods on Friday with the support of volunteers from other parts of Syria. The Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, said the armed volunteers had been deployed with the support of the Islamist-led government although an AFP journalist said security personnel were manning checkpoints on Saturday to prevent further reinforcements getting through. Druze fighters said the volunteers were mostly Islamists, who advanced to shouts of "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)". One armed tribesman told AFP he had come to fight against the Druze clergy and their "pig followers". "Today we came to their homes and we will slaughter them in their homes," he said. US-brokered deal The deal between the Islamist-government and Israel was announced by Washington early on Saturday Damascus time. US pointman on Syria, Tom Barrack, said interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have agreed to a ceasefire" negotiated by the United States. Barrack, who is US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of Sharaa, as well as neighbouring Jordan. "We call upon Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours," he wrote on X. The US administration, which has sided with Turkey and Saudi Arabia in forging ties with the Islamist president despite his past links with Al-Qaeda, was critical of its Israeli ally's air strikes on Sria earlier this week and had sought a way out for his government. Sharaa followed up on the US announcement with a televised speech in which he renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. "The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country... We condemn all crimes committed" in Sweida, he said. The president paid tribute to the "important role played by the United States, which again showed its support for Syria in these difficult circumstances and its concern for the country's stability". He also thanked Turkey and Arab countries for their support. 'No more room in morgue' The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said at least 718 people had been killed since Sunday. They included 146 Druze fighters and 245 Druze civilians, 165 of whom were summarily executed. The monitor said 287 government troops and 18 Bedouin fighters were also killed along with three Bedouin "who were summarily executed by Druze fighters". Fifteen more government troops were killed in Israeli air strikes. In the corridors of the city's main public hospital, a foul odour emanated from the swollen and disfigured bodies piled up in refrigerated storage units, an AFP correspondent reported. A small number of doctors and nurses at the hospital worked to treat the wounded arriving from the ongoing clashes, some in the hallways. Doctor Omar Obeid told AFP that the hospital had received "more than 400 bodies" since Monday morning. "There is no more room in the morgue. The bodies are in the street," he added. The International Committee for the Red Cross warned that health facilities were overwhelmed, with power cuts impeding the preservation of bodies in overflowing morgues. "The humanitarian situation in Sweida is critical. People are running out of everything," said Stephan Sakalian, the head of the ICRC's delegation in Syria. The International Organization for Migration said 79,339 civilians had fled the fighting. burs-kir/ysm © 2025 AFP
BreakingNews.ie
15-07-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Ceasefire announced after dozens killed in Syrian sectarian clashes
Syria's defence minister has announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in Sweida province on Tuesday. The announcement came a day after sectarian clashes that killed dozens, and after a state-run news agency report that Israel had launched a strike in the area. Advertisement Defence minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a statement that after an 'agreement with the city's notables and dignitaries, we will respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups'. The clashes began with a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between members of local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a centre of the Druze community. Clashes erupted between Sunni Bedouin clans and Druze militias (Ghaith Alsayed/AP) Government security forces that were sent in on Monday to restore order also clashed with Druze armed groups. During the day, Israel struck a Syrian government military tank and said it was acting to protect the Druze religious minority. In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Advertisement State-run news agency SANA did not give any details about Tuesday's strike. However, the Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel struck a tank belonging to the Syrian military as forces began to move in deeper into Sweida city. Earlier on Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities as they entered the provincial capital of Sweida. One of the main religious authorities later released a video statement retracting the call. The initial statement called for armed factions in Sweida to 'cooperate with the forces of the Ministry of Interior, not to resist their entry, and to hand over their weapons to the Ministry of Interior'. Advertisement The statement also called for 'opening a dialogue with the Syrian government to address the repercussions of the events.' The commander of Internal Security in Sweida Governorate, Brigadier General Ahmad al-Dalati, welcomed the statement and called for 'all religious authorities and social activists to adopt a unified national stance that supports the Ministry of Interior's measures to extend state authority and achieve security throughout the province'. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in a video message that the previous statement by Druze leaders had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but 'they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians'. 'We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation,' he said. Advertisement Some videos on social media had showed armed fighters with Druze captives, inciting sectarian slogans and beating them. The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half 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 Middle East War and annexed in 1981. Clashes have on several occasions broken out between forces loyal to the government and Druze fighters since the fall of President Bashar Assad in early December in a lightning rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. Advertisement
