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Israel Hits Damascus Defense Ministry 07/16 06:33
Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Wednesday after a
ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and as
Israel threatened to escalate its involvement, saying it's in support of the
Druze religious minority.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida
on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups
collapsed and as Israel threatened to escalate its involvement, saying it's in
support of the Druze religious minority.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it struck near the entrance to the Syrian
Ministry of Defense in Damascus. Israel has launched a series of airstrikes on
convoys of government forces in southern Syria since the clashes erupted and
has beefed up forces on the border.
Syria's Defense Ministry had earlier blamed militias in Sweida for violating
a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army
soldiers to return fire and continue military operations in the Druze-majority
province.
"Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the city
of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent
harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their
homes," the statement said.
A rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted Syria's longtime
despotic leader, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year
civil war. Since then, the country's new rulers have struggled to consolidate
control over the territory.
The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have faced suspicion from religious and
ethnic minorities. The fears of minorities increased after clashes between
government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled into sectarian
revenge attacks in which hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious
minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed.
Reports of killings and looting in Druze areas
The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and
attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the
southern province, a center of the Druze community.
Government forces that intervened to restore order have also clashed with
the Druze, while reports have surfaced of members of the security forces
carrying out extrajudicial killings, looting and burning civilian homes.
No official casualty figures have been released since Monday, when the
Syrian Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The U.K.-based war
monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 250 people had been
killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138
soldiers and security forces.
The observatory said at least 21 people were killed in "field executions."
The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a
branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 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 Mideast War and
annexed in 1981.
Israel threatens to scale up its intervention
In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the
military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the
country's new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system
while others have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed
for an autonomous Druze region.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that
the Israeli army "will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw
from the area -- and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the
regime if the message is not understood."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday night that
Israel has "a commitment to preserve the southwestern region of Syria as a
demilitarized area on Israel's border" and has "an obligation to safeguard the
Druze locals."
Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since
Assad's fall, saying it doesn't want Islamist militants near its borders.
Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory
along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on
military sites in Syria.
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