BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Israel’s army said Monday it has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clashed with Druze militias.
Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local in ’s Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order Monday also clashed with local armed groups.
Syria's Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people have died and nearly 100 others have been injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported at least 89 dead, including two children, two women and 14 members of the security forces.
The clashes in Syria initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory said, with some members of the government security forces “actively participating†in support of the Bedouins.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said government forces entered Sweida in the early morning to restore order.
“Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,†he told the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.
The observatory said the clashes started after a series of kidnappings between both groups, which began when members of a Bedouin tribe in the area set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a young Druze man.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
Syria’s defense and interior ministries were deploying personnel to the area to attempt to restore order.
The Interior Ministry described the situation as a dangerous escalation that “comes in the absence of the relevant official institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos, the deterioration of the security situation, and the inability of the local community to contain the situation despite repeated calls for calm.â€
U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi expressed “deep concern†over the violence and urged the government and local groups to “take immediate steps to protect civilians, restore calm, and prevent incitement.â€
She said in a statement the clashes underscored the “urgent need for genuine inclusion, trust-building, and meaningful dialogue to advance a credible and inclusive political transition in Syria.â€
Israel sees Druze as a loyal minority
Israel has previously intervened in Syria in defense of the Druze religious minority. In May, Israeli forces a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters earlier this year in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement at the time that Israel “will not allow the deployment of (Syrian government) forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.â€
Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most 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.
In Israel, Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces.
While many in Syria have said they do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf, factions from the Druze minority have also been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus after former President Bashar Assad in December during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions.
A group led by Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader who has been opposed to the new government in Damascus, on Monday issued a statement calling for “international protection†and accused government forces and General Security agency of “supporting takfiri gangs†- using a term for extremist Sunni militants.
‘Like unwrapping an onion’
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. In Syria, they largely live in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.
The Druze developed their own militias during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war, during which they sometimes faced attacks by the Islamic State and other Islamist militant groups.
Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders since Assad's fall, saying it does not want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces earlier seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and have launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.
The Trump administration has been pushing for the new Syrian government to move toward normalization with Israel. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to attempt to defuse tensions, but have not responded to reports that the two sides have also held direct talks.
U.S. envoy to Syria told The Associated Press last week that he believes normalizing ties will happen “like unwrapping an onion, slowly.â€
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Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
