Syrian troops enter Druze city of Suwayda after days of deadly clashes

Government forces purpose to extremity clashes with Bedouin tribes that person killed dozens of radical successful the confederate Syrian city.

Syrian troops person entered the predominantly Druze metropolis of Suwayda aft days of deadly clashes with Bedouin tribes that person killed dozens of people.

The deployment connected Tuesday came aft the Druze spiritual leadership, which had resisted immoderate deployment of Syrian troops successful the confederate city, urged Druze fighters to laic down their arms and let authorities forces in.

A curfew was to beryllium imposed connected the metropolis successful a bid to halt the violence, which erupted during the play and has since dispersed crossed the Suwayda governorate, sidesplitting astatine slightest 99 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warfare monitor.

The dormant see 60 Druze, including 4 civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 information unit and 7 unidentified radical successful subject uniforms, the show said. The Ministry of Defence reported 18 deaths among the equipped forces.

On Tuesday morning, Syrian subject columns were seen advancing towards Suwayda, with dense artillery deployed nearby. The Defence Ministry aboriginal said they had entered the city, and urged radical to “stay location and study immoderate movements of outlaw groups”.

It is the archetypal clip authorities forces person deployed to Suwayda since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad successful December and the enactment of an interim government nether President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The Druze spiritual sect is simply a number radical that originated arsenic a 10th-century offshoot of a subdivision of Shia Islam. In Syria, the 700,000-strong assemblage chiefly resides successful the confederate Suwayda state and immoderate suburbs of Damascus, chiefly successful Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.

Bedouin and Druze factions person a longstanding feud successful Suwayda, with unit occasionally erupting.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Deir Az Azor successful Syria, said warring successful the metropolis had been ongoing since Friday.

“It escalated and much than 2 twelve radical were killed. The authorities sent its reinforcements and past determination was an ambush of the authorities troops arsenic well, wherever astatine slightest 18 soldiers we judge were either killed oregon wounded,” helium said.

Bin Javaid said the concern has been exacerbated by Israeli attacks connected authorities positions successful Syria.

Israel, which has attempted to represent itself arsenic a protector of the Druze successful Syria and sees them arsenic imaginable allies, bombed respective Syrian tanks connected Monday.

“There person been a fig of attacks by Israel, and the Israelis person said that immoderate question of unit oregon hardware successful the southbound of Syria volition proceed to beryllium monitored by the Israeli service and [they] volition proceed to onslaught them arsenic well,” Bin Javaid said.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies