3 w. ago In photos: Bedouin clans in Syria say they have withdrawn from Sweida following deadly fighting

Syria’s armed Bedouin clans announced Sunday they had withdrawn from the Druze-majority city of Sweida following weeklong clashes and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as humanitarian aid convoys started to enter the battered southern city.

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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...

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3 w. ago Syria clashes continue as Sharaa regime struggles to enforce ceasefire

Government claims Sweida cleared of Bedouin fighters

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3 w. 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

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3 w. 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...

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3 w. ago Syria's leader urges Bedouin tribes to commit to a ceasefire ending clashes with the Druze

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has urged Sunni Bedouin tribes to honor a ceasefire aimed at ending deadly clashes with Druze-linked militias Sweida

Politics

3 w. 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...

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3 w. 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...

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3 w. 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...

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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...

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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...

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3 w. 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...

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3 w. 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

3 w. ago Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after ceasefire goes into effect

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority

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.

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4 w. ago Clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin clans in Syria kill more than 30 people

Clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin clans in Syria's Sweida province have killed more than 30 people and injured nearly 100

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