Zürcher Nachrichten - Syria reports Israeli strikes after warning over Druze as sectarian clashes spread

The sectarian violence and Israel's intervention present huge challenges to the Islamist authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, and follow massacres last month in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland.

United Nations special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen condemned the violence as "unacceptable" and expressed alarm at "the potential for further escalation of an extremely fragile situation".

State news agency SANA reported "Israeli occupation strikes on the vicinity" of Sahnaya, southwest of the capital.

Deadly sectarian clashes erupted overnight in Sahnaya, home to Druze and Christian residents.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said six local Druze fighters were killed in the clashes while the interior ministry reported 16 General Security forces dead after "outlaw groups" attacked government positions and checkpoints.

The previous night, eight Druze fighters and nine gunmen linked to the authorities were killed in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian suburb southeast of the capital, the Observatory said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had carried out "warning action", striking "an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population" in Sahnaya.

"A stern message was conveyed to the Syrian regime -- Israel expects them to act to prevent harm to the Druze community," said a statement from Netanyahu's office.

Israel had previously warned Syria's Islamist rulers against harming the Druze, who are also present in Lebanon and Israel.

The Israeli army on Wednesday said troops were instructed to "prepare to strike" Syrian government targets "should the violence against Druze communities continue".

- 'Iron fist' -

SANA later said a "security operation" in the Sahnaya area had ended and General Security personnel deployed there to "restore security and stability".

Jaramana and Sahnaya are surrounded by Sunni-majority areas.

The violence was sparked by the circulation of an audio recording attributed to a Druze citizen and deemed blasphemous.

AFP was unable to confirm the recording's authenticity.

The interior ministry had said authorities would "strike with an iron fist all those who seek to destabilise Syria's security", SANA reported.

Sahnaya activist Samer Rafaa said "we didn't sleep... mortar shells are falling on our homes".

Syria's new Islamist authorities, who have roots in the Al-Qaeda jihadist network, have vowed inclusive rule in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country, but must also contend with pressures from radical Islamists within their ranks.

Israel, which sees Syria's new forces as jihadists, has continued to launch hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria since Assad's downfall.

It has also sent troops into the demilitarised buffer zone of the Israeli-annexed Syrian Golan Heights and voiced support for Syria's Druze.

Key Syria backer Turkey has accused Israel of stirring up divisions and turning minorities against Damascus.

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Wednesday urged Syria's Druze to "reject Israeli interference".

Syria's top Muslim cleric Osama al-Rifai warned that "if strife ignites in our country... all of us will lose".

Analyst Michael Horowitz told AFP that "by positioning itself as a protector of the Druze community, Israel hopes both to find local allies" and "to carry weight at a time when Syria's future remains uncertain".

"Local allies can also be seen as an element that enables the reduction of the authority of a central government that Israel, right or wrong, sees as a Turkish vassal and a potential enemy," he added.

- Jaramana -

Druze fighter Karam, 27, declining to provide his full name, had told AFP that "restoring calm will require great effort".

Armed factions were dissolved and have been integrating into the defence ministry since Assad's ouster.

General Security, formerly the chief security agency in rebel-held northwest Syria, is now the most influential such body.

In Jaramana, calm returned on Tuesday as Syria's government promised Druze leaders to try those responsible for the violence, which it blamed on "gunmen".

An AFP photographer said mourners raised Druze flags at the funeral Wednesday for seven fighters from Jaramana.

Druze representatives have declared their loyalty to a united Syria after previous Israeli warnings.

Last month's massacres on the coast, where the Observatory said security forces and allied groups killed more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, were the worst bloodshed since the December ouster of Assad, who is from the minority community.

The government accused Assad loyalists of sparking the violence by attacking security forces, and has launched an inquiry.

I.Widmer--NZN