Israel strikes Syria’s defence ministry in third day of attacks

The Syrian army entered Sweida on Sunday in an attempt to restore calm between Druze fighters and Arab Bedouin tribes.

Fighting broke out after Bedouin tribe members robbed a Druze man on the main road south of Damascus, kicking off a cycle of retaliatory violence between the two groups. Intermittent violence between members of the Druze and Bedouin communities has been common in the area in recent years.

Some Druze militias have vowed to prevent Syrian government forces entering Sweida and have attacked them, leading to escalating clashes.

As government forces entered Sweida, accounts of human rights abuses began to emerge.

On Tuesday around noon, armed gunmen entered a reception hall belonging to the Radwan family in Sweida and killed 15 unarmed men and one woman, three members of the family told the Guardian. The SOHR also reported the killings, though put the number of dead at 12.

“I just lost nine close friends and relatives. It just makes me feel so sad. There are no weapons allowed in the [hall], it’s not like it’s a military base,” said Maan Radwan, a 46-year-old London resident whose relatives were killed in the shooting.

Video of the aftermath of the shooting showed unarmed men strewn across a room lying in pools of blood. Family members said men in army fatigues prevented ambulances from reaching the reception hall, which they thought was meant to ensure the wounded died from blood loss.

“We don’t know who is with general security, who are jihadists, who are Bedouin tribespeople. It’s impossible to tell who is killing us,” a 52-year old teacher and relative of the Radwan family in Sweida told the Guardian by phone.

A surgeon at the Sweida national hospital said that the bodies of those killed in the Radwan house bore close-range gunshot wounds, adding that they knew many of those who were killed in the shootings personally.

Sharaa issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the human rights violations.

“These criminal and illegal actions cannot be accepted under any circumstances and completely contradict the principles that the Syrian state is built on,” the statement said, adding that perpetrators would be held accountable.

The US special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, posted on X saying: “Actions must follow to end violence, ensure accountability and protect all Syrians.”

It was unclear who was committing the abuses against civilians, and witnesses said they could not distinguish between state security forces and militia fighters.

On their private social media, two members of the government forces posted sectarian hate speech against Druze.

One member of the government forces posted a video of him and two other soldiers driving through Sweida laughing as he said: “We are on our way to distribute aid,” while brandishing a machete to the camera. He filmed himself inside a house in Sweida ripping a picture of Druze spiritual leaders off a wall and trampling it with his boots.

“If God grants you victory, none can defeat you. We are coming for you with sectarianism,” he continued.

The Syrian defence ministry said it was “adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents”.

Several civilians in Sweida city described being locked inside their home as fighting continued outside, while electricity and other basic supplies have been cut off.

One 52-year-old English teacher said they had watched as their neighbour was shot dead by a hidden sniper, and that no one could collect the body for fear of being shot.

A 31-year-old resident of Sweida said he watched as armed men burned the shop below his house, calling the Druze “swine” as they ransacked the neighbouring building.

The Syrian interior ministry said the continued fighting could only be solved by integrating the Druze-majority province into the state and said it came “in the absence of relevant official institutions”.

The killings in Sweida provoked anger among the wider Druze community in the Middle East. Some Israeli Druze in the occupied Golan Heights managed to cross the fence into Syria before being retrieved by the Israeli army. The Israeli military also said that it had reinforced its presence along the Syria-Israel border.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement urging people not to try to cross the border into Syria.

“Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF,” he said.

Relations between Israel and Syria had begun to thaw before this week, with Israeli and Syrian officials engaging in security discussions and military coordination. Syria’s leadership has hinted it could eventually normalise relations with its southern neighbour.

After the fall of Assad, the Israeli military launched hundreds of airstrikes against military assets in Syria and invaded the country’s south, where it continues to occupy large swathes of territory.

[Source: The Guardian]