BEIRUT: Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday (Aug 3).
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence erupted in Sweida on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
US-BROKERED TRUCE ON SHAKY GROUND
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
Since the ouster of former President Bashar Al-Assad, Israel has conducted numerous strikes and military operations in southern Syria, saying its forces are taking out militant groups that they suspect could harm Israelis and residents in the Golan Heights.
Damascus has been critical of Israel’s military activity, and the two sides have been trying to reach a security arrangement through US-mediated talks. Syria has repeatedly said it does not intend to take military action against Israel.
Those talks intensified after Israel backed the Druze in Sweida during the earlier clashes. Israel struck military personnel near the southern city and most notably launched an airstrike targeting the Defence Ministry headquarters in the heart of Damascus.
