Syrian security forces joined the bedouins in their attack against the Druze in Swida province
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Israel’s army said Monday it has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clashed with Druze militias.
Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria ’s Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order Monday also clashed with local armed groups.
Syria’s Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people have died and nearly 100 others have been injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported at least 89 dead, including two Druze children and two Druze women and 14 members of the security forces.
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 claimed the 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.
A clear warning
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stated that striking targets in Syria was a clear warning to the Syrian regime, stressing that Israel would not allow harm to the Druze in Syria.
Failure to protect ninorities
“Ahmed al-Sharaa is not just any leader. He is a former jihadist figure with documented ties to al-Qaeda and ISIS. His sudden transformation into a statesman has done little to reassure those who remember the cruelty of Syria’s darkest years. While he and his allies now speak the language of governance and unity, the ground reality tells a very different story.” Ya Libnan, a Lebanese dailynwrote in its editorial today’.
“Ahmed al-Sharaa still has a choice to make—though time is quickly running out. If he is truly seeking redemption from his militant past, if he truly believes in a future for Syria, then protecting the country’s minorities must be his immediate priority. That means deploying state resources to guard vulnerable communities, prosecuting those responsible for sectarian violence, and publicly affirming the equal rights of all Syrians, regardless of sect or ethnicity, ” Ya Libnan added.
“If Sharaa fails to rise to this moment, Syria’s minorities will not wait to be slaughtered—they will flee, they will resist, and they may ultimately seek international protection. And when that happens, Syria may cease to exist as we know it”, Ya Libnan concluded
AP