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 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...

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3 w. 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who say there is a “tense calm” in Sweida after the Islamist-led government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city.Kenan Azzam, a dentist, told Reuters residents were still, however, struggling with a lack of water and electricity.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...

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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 Syrian government declares ‘comprehensive’ ceasefire in Sweida

Presidency urges all parties to commit to truce and says any breaches will be violation of sovereignty• Analysis: Escalating unrest lays bare new regime’s momentous challengesThe Syrian presidency has declared an “immediate and comprehensive” ceasefire in Sweida, saying internal security forces have been deployed in the southern province after almost a week of fighting in the predominantly Druze area which has killed more than 700 people.Armed tribes had clashed with Druze fighters on Friday, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure. Continue reading...

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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 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...

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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

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3 w. ago Syrian president condemns Israel’s attacks on Damascus and vows to protect Druze community

Ahmed al-Sharaa thanks American, Arab and Turkish mediators as efforts to restore order in city of Sweida continueSyria’s interim president has condemned Israel for “wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities” after the Israeli military struck Damascus on Wednesday as it sought to intervene in clashes between the Syrian army and Druze fighters.Israel’s strikes would have pushed “matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate”, Ahmed al-Sharaa said in his first televised statement since the attacks. Continue reading...

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3 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...

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3 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...

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