15 m. 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

2 h. ago More than 1,000 people killed in south Syria clashes with ‘tense calm’ now in place in Sweida – Middle East crisis live

Syria struggling to contain sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fightersIsrael wants the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to replace a system coordinated by the UN and international aid groups. Along with the US, it accuses Hamas of stealing aid, without offering evidence.Critics have argued that the GHF is a tool for the Israeli and US governments to politicise humanitarian aid and to distribute it in ways that will depopulate sectors of Gaza in apparent violation of international law. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Syria clashes continue as Sharaa regime struggles to enforce ceasefire

Government claims Sweida cleared of Bedouin fighters

Events

2 h. ago The horrific video encapsulating the Druze people's plight: Evil footage showing militants forcing them to their death is latest outrage

The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of the government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al-Assad in December.

Culture

4 h. ago ‘Tense calm’ in Sweida after withdrawal of Bedouin fighters – Middle East crisis live

Syria struggling to contain sectarian clashes between Bedouin and Druze fightersThe Reuters news agency has spoken to residents who say there is a “tense calm” in Sweida after the Islamist-led government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city.Kenan Azzam, a dentist, told Reuters residents were still, however, struggling with a lack of water and electricity. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago Overseas Syrians protest in London and Paris against killings of Druze in Sweida

Overseas Syrians protest in London and Paris against killings of Druze in Sweida  The Times of Israel

Events

20 h. ago Clashes continue in Sweida after Syrian presidency’s ceasefire declaration

Government urges all parties to commit to truce and says any breaches will be violation of sovereignty Escalating unrest lays bare new regime’s momentous challengesBedouin fighters and their allies have continued to clash with Druze fighters in the Syrian province of Sweida, despite an order by the government to put down their arms in a conflict that has killed more than 900 people since Sunday.The Syrian presidency had earlier declared an “immediate and comprehensive” ceasefire and deployed its internal security forces in the southern province after almost a week of fighting in the predominantly Druze area. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Syrian presidency announces ceasefire after days of violence

Syria’s interior ministry spokesperson said earlier on Saturday that internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida

Events

27 h. ago Syrian presidency urges all parties to respect ceasefire following deadly conflict

Syria’s interior ministry spokesperson said earlier on Saturday that internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida

Events

29 h. ago Escalating unrest in Syria lays bare new regime’s momentous challenges

Division between minority populations drag Syria further into cycle of violence and attracts Israeli opportunismSeven months on from Bashar al-Assad’s fall, Syria is descending into yet another wave of bloody sectarian violence.A local dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze minority sparked clashes that drew in Syrian government forces and triggered Israeli airstrikes – leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago More violence erupts in Syria’s Druze heartland as tribal groups reinforce local Bedouin

UN calls for end to ‘bloodshed’ that has claimed at least 638 lives, according to Syrian Observatory for Human RightsArmed tribes supported by Syria’s Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community’s Sweida heartland on Friday, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure.The UN called for an end to the “bloodshed” and demanded an “independent” investigation of the violence, which has claimed at least 638 lives since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Continue reading...

Events

47 h. ago Netanyahu speaks to Pope after three killed in Israeli strike on Gaza church – Middle East crisis live

Leo urges Israeli PM to reach a ceasefire deal and expresses concern over ‘heartbreaking toll’ in regionTwo of Jerusalem’s most senior Christian clerics travelled to Gaza on Friday after a deadly Israeli strike on the Palestinian territory’s only Catholic church, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, headed an “ecclesiastical delegation” to meet local Christians after Thursday’s strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, a statement read.Those responsible must be held to account.It is crucial that immediate steps are taken to prevent recurrence of such violence. Continue reading...

Events

51 h. ago Fourteen reported dead after Israeli strikes on Gaza – Middle East crisis live

Two separate Israeli strikes reported in southern Gaza, with another attack in the northTwo of Jerusalem’s most senior Christian clerics travelled to Gaza on Friday after a deadly Israeli strike on the Palestinian territory’s only Catholic church, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, headed an “ecclesiastical delegation” to meet local Christians after Thursday’s strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, a statement read.Those responsible must be held to account.It is crucial that immediate steps are taken to prevent recurrence of such violence. Continue reading...

Events

55 h. ago Epping protest: Violence erupts as masked men clash with police during demonstration outside migrant hotel

A crowd of men, some wearing masks and balaclavas, were seen squaring up to police officers, throwing bottles and jumping onto police vans

Events

55 h. ago Syria's Druze find bodies in the streets while searching for loved ones after days of clashes

Members of Syria's Druze community are searching for loved ones and counting their dead after days of clashes in a southern province that left bloodied bodies of civilians on the streets and homes looted

Events

56 h. 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

56 h. 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

64 h. ago Israeli airstrike hits Sweida city in Syria as Bedouin tribes clash with Druze

Conflict restarts in southern province as Druze groups reportedly target Bedouin villages in ‘revenge’ attacksThe Israeli military has carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of Sweida city as clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters intensified on Thursday night.The clashes started a wave of tit-for-tat retaliatory violence earlier on in the day after Syrian government forces withdrew from Sweida. Continue reading...

Events

64 h. 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

3 d. ago Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after days of clashes with Druze fighters

President Ahmed al-Sharaa says move avoids dragging country ‘into a new, broader war’ after Israel attacks DamascusSyrian government forces have withdrawn from the Druze-majority province of Sweida, ending four days of clashes between the army and local Druze fighters.In a speech on Thursday, the Syrian president said Druze groups would be left to govern security affairs in the southern province, in what he described as a choice to avoid war. Continue reading...

Politics