DAMASCUS: Clashes broke out in a suburb of the Syrian Arab Republic capital early Tuesday between local gunmen belonging to the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, leaving at least 10 people dead, an activist group said.
The fighting in the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana began after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticizing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric. But cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio, which angered many Sunni Muslims.
"I categorically deny that the audio was made by me,” Kiwan said. “I did not say that, and whoever made it is an evil man who wants to incite strife between components of the Syrian people.”
The Interior Ministry said in a statement it was investigating the audio clip, adding that its initial probe showed the cleric was not responsible. The ministry urged people to abide by the law and not to act in a way that undermines security.
The Druze religious leadership in Jaramana condemned the audio but blasted the “unjustified armed attack” on the suburb. It urged the state to publicly clarify what happened.
“Why does this keep happening every now and then? It’s as if there’s no state or government in charge. They need to establish security checkpoints, especially in areas where they are tensions,” said Jaramana resident Abu Tarek Zaaour.
The activist media collective Suwayda24 said 11 people were killed and 12 were wounded.
Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of Suwayda24 said gunmen were holding the attacker's bodies and talks are on the way to hand them over.
Syrian Druze gunmen have clashed in recent weeks with government security forces in Jaramana.
On March 1, Israel’s Defense Ministry said the military was instructed to prepare to defend Jaramana, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
The worst internal clashes in Syria since the fall of President Bashar Assad in early December occurred last month in the country's coastal region and involved members of the minority Alawite sect that the former president belonged to.
The clashes between Assad loyalists and government forces were accompanied by revenge killings that left more than 1,000 people dead, including hundreds of civilians, according to a war monitor. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the figures.
Clashes between Druze gunmen and pro-government fighters in Syrian capital kill at least 10
https://arab.news/p7emm
Clashes between Druze gunmen and pro-government fighters in Syrian capital kill at least 10
- Cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio
- The activist media collective Suwayda24 said 11 people were killed and 12 were wounded
Syria nears anniversary of Assad’s fall amid renewed ‘deeply troubling’ abuses, UN warns
- Early steps by interim leadership ‘encouraging but only the beginning’ of long process of accountability, human rights chief says
- Concern that rising hate speech, both online and on the streets, has intensified violence against Alawite, Druze, Christian, Bedouin communities
NEW YORK: Syria is days away from marking the first anniversary of the fall of President Bashar Assad’s regime, but the country’s interim authorities face mounting criticism over continuing abuses and a fragile security environment, the UN human rights chief said.
In a statement on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said early steps by the interim leadership, including the creation of national commissions for transitional justice and missing persons, and investigative bodies examining violence in coastal areas and in Suweida, were “encouraging but only the beginning” of a long process of accountability.
Trials for suspects linked to last year’s coastal violence have begun, and a draft law on transitional justice has been announced. But Turk said the human rights situation remains deeply troubling.
According to the UN, hundreds of people have been killed over the past year in summary executions, arbitrary killings, and abductions. Victims include members of minority communities and individuals accused of ties to the former government. Deaths were attributed to gunfire, stabbings, blunt-force attacks, shelling, hand grenades and explosive remnants of war.
The UN said perpetrators include security forces under the interim authorities, armed groups aligned with them, remnants of the former government’s forces, local militias, and unidentified armed actors.
Investigators also documented reports of sexual violence, arbitrary detention, looting, destruction of homes, forced evictions, and property confiscations, along with restrictions on free expression and peaceful assembly.
Turk warned that rising hate speech, both online and on the streets, had intensified violence against Alawite, Druze, Christian, and Bedouin communities.
The past year has also seen repeated Israeli military operations inside Syrian territory, including incursions and the occupation of additional areas. The UN said it had received reports of civilian casualties in a recent Israeli strike near Damascus, along with arrests and home searches carried out during military actions.
Turk expressed concern that former armed groups have been integrated into new security forces without adequate human rights checks, raising the risk of repeat violations.
“Proper vetting and comprehensive security sector reform are essential to prevent individuals responsible for serious abuses from entering the security forces,” he said.
He urged Syria’s interim authorities to ensure independent and transparent investigations into all violations, past and present, and to hold those responsible to account.
“Accountability, justice, peace, and the security of all Syrians are absolute prerequisites for a successful transition,” Turk said, adding that victims must have access to remedies and reparation.
The UN Human Rights Office said its Damascus program is supporting efforts to advance inclusive transitional justice and strengthen the rule of law as Syria navigates a post-Assad transition.
