3 w. ago ‘Tense calm’ returns to Syria’s Sweida province after week of deadly violence

More than 1,000 people estimated to have been killed after clashes between Bedouin and Druze groupsAn uneasy calm returned to southern Syria’s Sweida province on Sunday, after fighters withdrew following a week of violence estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people.Local people told news agencies the area was calm after Syria’s Islamist-led government said Bedouin fighters had left the predominantly Druze city. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘It’s impossible to tell who is killing us’: four days of violence end with hundreds dead in southern Syria

Sectarian divisions prompted the worst unrest in Syria since March as the Druze population of Sweida province suffered massacres and executionsBahaa* had no choice but to keep on working as patient after patient came through the doors of the Sweida National hospital in southern Syria. Almost all bore similar injuries: gunshot wounds and bodies shredded by shrapnel from nearby exploding artillery.“There were hundreds of wounded, no less than 200 bodies in the hospital. Many of them shot in the head, as if executed,” said Bahaa, a surgeon speaking of the events of this week in Sweida under a pseudonym for fear of retribution. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Shot in the head, as if executed’: four days of violence end with hundreds dead in southern Syria

Sectarian divisions prompted the worst unrest in Syria since March as the Druze population of Sweida province suffered massacres and executionsBahaa* had no choice but to keep on working as patient after patient came through the doors of the Sweida National hospital in southern Syria. Almost all bore similar injuries: gunshot wounds and bodies shredded by shrapnel from nearby exploding artillery.“There were hundreds of wounded, no less than 200 bodies in the hospital. Many of them shot in the head, as if executed,” said Bahaa, a surgeon speaking of the events of this week in Sweida under a pseudonym for fear of retribution. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Key players in Syria's latest eruption of violence, from the Druze and Bedouin to government forces

Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war

Politics

4 w. ago Israel strikes Syria’s defence ministry in third day of attacks on the country

Intervention comes as clashes between the Syrian army and Druze militias in the south of the country escalateMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe 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. Syrian state media said that at least two officers had been wounded and staff were reportedly sheltering in the building’s basement. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Israel strikes Syria’s defence ministry in third day of attacks

Intervention comes as clashes between the Syrian army and Druze militias in the south of the country escalateMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe 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. Syrian state media said at least two officers had been wounded and staff were reportedly sheltering in the building’s basement. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Photos in southern Syria after soldiers move in to quell sectarian violence

Injured government soldiers and civilians were treated after Syrian troops moved into the city of Sweida and surrounding areas after clashes broke out between Druze militiamen and Sunni Bedouin tribes in southern Sweida province.

Events