- Joined
- Mar 21, 2016
- Messages
- 3,858
- Reaction score
- 5,909
(I haven't seen a thread on this specific issue yet, if I missed it mods please merge it)
The Israeli military struck the Syrian defence ministry in Damascus twice on Wednesday as it intervened in the clashes between the Syrian army and Druze fighters in southern Syria in the country’s deadliest violence in months.
The strikes collapsed four floors of the ministry and ruined its facade. The strikes killed one person and injured 18, Syrian officials said.
It was the first time Israel had targeted Damascus since May and the third day in a row it had conducted airstrikes against the Syrian military.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military said the strike on the defence ministry had been a message to the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa “regarding the events in Sweida”. The Israeli military struck Syrian tanks on Monday and has continued to conduct dozens of drone strikes on troops, killing some soldiers.
Israel has said it will not allow the Syrian army to deploy in the south of the country, and that it would protect the Druze community from the Damascus government. Many in the Druze community have rebuffed Israel’s claim of patronage for fear of being viewed as a foreign proxy.
The Israeli bombing added another complication to an already escalating conflict between Syrian government forces, Bedouin Arab tribes and Druze fighters. More than 250 people have been killed in four days of clashes, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
On Wednesday, the Syrian government and one of the three spiritual leaders of the Syrian Druze community announced a ceasefire. It was unclear if the truce would hold, however, as another spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, vowed to keep fighting, calling the government a collection of “armed gangs”.
A ceasefire announced on Tuesday broke down in similar circumstances.
On Wednesday night, Reuters reported that the UN security council would meet on Thursday to discuss the situation.
The clashes pitting mostly Sunni government forces against Druze fighters have prompted fears of a wider sectarian conflict. An attack in March by remnants of the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad on security forces led to violence in which more than 1,500 people were killed, most of them from the minority Alawite community.
The violence is the most serious challenge to Damascus’s rule since the coastal massacres and has threatened to further push away everyday Druze from the state.
The Druze, a religious minority in Syria and the wider Middle East, make up the majority of the population of Sweida province in the south of the country. They have been negotiating with the Islamist-led authorities in Damascus since the fall of Assad, in an attempt to achieve some form of autonomy. They have yet to reach an agreement that defines their relationship with the new Syrian state.
Read more : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...nistry-in-third-day-of-attacks-on-the-country
Israel strikes Syria’s defence ministry in third day of attacks
One person killed and 18 injured, say Syrian officials, as Israel intervenes in clashes between government forces and Druze fightersThe Israeli military struck the Syrian defence ministry in Damascus twice on Wednesday as it intervened in the clashes between the Syrian army and Druze fighters in southern Syria in the country’s deadliest violence in months.
The strikes collapsed four floors of the ministry and ruined its facade. The strikes killed one person and injured 18, Syrian officials said.
It was the first time Israel had targeted Damascus since May and the third day in a row it had conducted airstrikes against the Syrian military.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military said the strike on the defence ministry had been a message to the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa “regarding the events in Sweida”. The Israeli military struck Syrian tanks on Monday and has continued to conduct dozens of drone strikes on troops, killing some soldiers.
Israel has said it will not allow the Syrian army to deploy in the south of the country, and that it would protect the Druze community from the Damascus government. Many in the Druze community have rebuffed Israel’s claim of patronage for fear of being viewed as a foreign proxy.
The Israeli bombing added another complication to an already escalating conflict between Syrian government forces, Bedouin Arab tribes and Druze fighters. More than 250 people have been killed in four days of clashes, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
On Wednesday, the Syrian government and one of the three spiritual leaders of the Syrian Druze community announced a ceasefire. It was unclear if the truce would hold, however, as another spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, vowed to keep fighting, calling the government a collection of “armed gangs”.
A ceasefire announced on Tuesday broke down in similar circumstances.
On Wednesday night, Reuters reported that the UN security council would meet on Thursday to discuss the situation.
The clashes pitting mostly Sunni government forces against Druze fighters have prompted fears of a wider sectarian conflict. An attack in March by remnants of the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad on security forces led to violence in which more than 1,500 people were killed, most of them from the minority Alawite community.
The violence is the most serious challenge to Damascus’s rule since the coastal massacres and has threatened to further push away everyday Druze from the state.
The Druze, a religious minority in Syria and the wider Middle East, make up the majority of the population of Sweida province in the south of the country. They have been negotiating with the Islamist-led authorities in Damascus since the fall of Assad, in an attempt to achieve some form of autonomy. They have yet to reach an agreement that defines their relationship with the new Syrian state.
Read more : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...nistry-in-third-day-of-attacks-on-the-country
