Israeli forces reportedly executed an operation against armed assailants targeting Druze militants in Syria.
ROWDY RIFT IN SYRIA: Israel jumps into the fray once again, striking a "nuisance group" in Syria late last week. The fracas, which left at least 11 casualties, mainly Syrian security personnel, was another chapter in a sizzling saga that's been brewing for a while.
The clash went down on the outskirts of Sahnaya, south of Damascus, following an intense firefight the previous day between pro-government fighters and Druze militants in Jaramana, a Damascus suburb. The bloodbath sealed the fate of ten individuals.
In a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister's office claimed that their military had executed a preemptive strike against "a belligerent gang planning further assaults on the Druze populace" in Sahnaya. However, they kept mum about the specifics of the warning shot.
Israel delivered an unequivocal message to Syria's regime, asserting that they expected the latter to thwart any harm inflicting on the Druze community. Israel's Defense Ministry had earlier issued instructions to ready the troops to safeguard Jaramana, citing reports of their minority ally, the Druze, being under siege by Syrian forces.
The Druze religious sect originated as a 10th-century spin-off of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Approximately half a million Druze reside in Syria, while the other Druze populations primarily dwell in neighboring Lebanon and Israel, including the Golan Heights, annexed by Israel in 1981 following their victory in the 1967 Mideast War.
Rayan Maarouf, Suwayda24's editor-in-chief, reports that the tussle ignited when security forces launched attacks on Ashrafiet Sahnaya on Tuesday night. Maarouf, himself a Druze, has been receiving distress calls from locals who claimed residential areas were being targeted.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Information Ministry declared that 11 security personnel were slain in two separate incidents, triggering the clash. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, disclosed that 13 individuals perished in the chaos, with 11 belonging to the security forces and the remaining two being local Druze residents from Sahnaya. The report added that the Syrian forces are dispatching reinforcements to Sahnaya.
Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party, the nation's largest Druze political group, announced that former leader Walid Joumblatt had engaged in dialogues with the political leadership in Damascus, as well as officials in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. A ceasefire agreement was reached, and it came into effect subsequently.
Since the ousting of President Bashar Assad, Israel has been boosting its troop presence in southern Syria to establish a demilitarized buffer zone. "Israel will not stand idly by and allow harm to the Druze community in Syria due to deep-rooted emotional and historical ties with our Druze brothers in Israel," the statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's office read.
Contributor: Bassem Mroue from Beirut
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- A Syrian-based journalist, Sanadiki, reported that the clash in Sahnaya resulted from security forces attacking Ashrafiet Sahnaya, causing half of the local Druze population to flee their homes.
- After the clash, Israel asserted that the Syrian government should prevent any harm inflicting on the Druze community, referencing the historical and emotional ties with the Druze community in Israel.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 13 individuals perished in the chaos, including half of the local Druze residents from Sahnaya, underscoring the implications of war-and-conflicts politics for marginalized communities.
- In the midst of these ongoing war-and-conflicts, Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party announced that dialogues were being held with political leaders in Damascus and other nations to establish a ceasefire and protect the Druze population in Syria.
