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 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 ‘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 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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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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