Zürcher Nachrichten - Syria deploys forces after dozens killed in Bedouin-Druze clashes

EUR -
AED 4.322268
AFN 82.375198
ALL 97.820014
AMD 451.78854
ANG 2.106086
AOA 1079.109066
ARS 1480.955073
AUD 1.783601
AWG 2.12115
AZN 1.998322
BAM 1.962725
BBD 2.376034
BDT 143.447962
BGN 1.954727
BHD 0.443605
BIF 3447.971522
BMD 1.176782
BND 1.503537
BOB 8.131865
BRL 6.492422
BSD 1.176777
BTN 101.675313
BWP 15.705347
BYN 3.85117
BYR 23064.928952
BZD 2.36379
CAD 1.601147
CDF 3396.192855
CHF 0.932794
CLF 0.028454
CLP 1116.248879
CNY 8.425508
CNH 8.415269
COP 4751.904916
CRC 594.495056
CUC 1.176782
CUP 31.184725
CVE 110.76465
CZK 24.587725
DJF 209.137823
DKK 7.463693
DOP 71.085202
DZD 152.544512
EGP 57.775771
ERN 17.651731
ETB 162.50519
FJD 2.631517
FKP 0.870467
GBP 0.866965
GEL 3.189371
GGP 0.870467
GHS 12.249841
GIP 0.870467
GMD 84.727856
GNF 10186.225772
GTQ 9.03206
GYD 246.073459
HKD 9.237457
HNL 31.008077
HRK 7.531521
HTG 154.41812
HUF 398.509022
IDR 19149.304228
ILS 3.921044
IMP 0.870467
INR 101.666971
IQD 1541.584537
IRR 49557.234235
ISK 142.802446
JEP 0.870467
JMD 188.766031
JOD 0.834333
JPY 172.154396
KES 152.39661
KGS 102.819093
KHR 4730.663635
KMF 494.843557
KPW 1059.165111
KRW 1616.945196
KWD 0.359024
KYD 0.980656
KZT 633.31185
LAK 25377.306008
LBP 105380.835944
LKR 355.03021
LRD 236.532948
LSL 20.605539
LTL 3.474731
LVL 0.711824
LYD 6.366462
MAD 10.5778
MDL 19.899126
MGA 5213.14493
MKD 61.548603
MMK 2470.184178
MNT 4220.38234
MOP 9.514272
MRU 46.85937
MUR 53.366922
MVR 18.128018
MWK 2043.481966
MXN 21.823635
MYR 4.974848
MZN 75.266687
NAD 20.605626
NGN 1801.936165
NIO 43.246878
NOK 11.891483
NPR 162.684463
NZD 1.94651
OMR 0.452469
PAB 1.176777
PEN 4.1846
PGK 4.860404
PHP 66.647082
PKR 335.647598
PLN 4.248623
PYG 8814.099154
QAR 4.284189
RON 5.066751
RSD 117.12629
RUB 92.25858
RWF 1693.977818
SAR 4.414838
SBD 9.749752
SCR 17.228153
SDG 706.653239
SEK 11.194328
SGD 1.501945
SHP 0.924766
SLE 27.007419
SLL 24676.536668
SOS 672.524794
SRD 42.890234
STD 24357.013336
STN 24.894825
SVC 10.296461
SYP 15300.474049
SZL 20.605093
THB 37.845772
TJS 11.291179
TMT 4.130505
TND 3.372363
TOP 2.756138
TRY 47.61205
TTD 7.986144
TWD 34.45642
TZS 3033.161124
UAH 49.206645
UGX 4224.996991
USD 1.176782
UYU 47.30752
UZS 15045.159135
VES 141.535579
VND 30766.967727
VUV 141.285399
WST 3.102102
XAF 658.29367
XAG 0.029954
XAU 0.000347
XCD 3.180312
XCG 2.120774
XDR 0.817309
XOF 656.644614
XPF 119.331742
YER 283.545712
ZAR 20.64766
ZMK 10592.457711
ZMW 27.331014
ZWL 378.923353
  • RIO

    0.2900

    64.62

    +0.45%

  • CMSC

    -0.0400

    22.43

    -0.18%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • GSK

    1.0100

    38.03

    +2.66%

  • RBGPF

    0.9700

    68

    +1.43%

  • AZN

    2.5200

    73

    +3.45%

  • BTI

    0.1500

    52.37

    +0.29%

  • NGG

    -1.6300

    72.65

    -2.24%

  • SCS

    0.2100

    10.68

    +1.97%

  • RYCEF

    0.2000

    13.5

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    1.2000

    88.35

    +1.36%

  • CMSD

    -0.0300

    22.89

    -0.13%

  • BP

    0.1900

    32.71

    +0.58%

  • JRI

    0.0000

    13.21

    0%

  • BCE

    0.2200

    24.6

    +0.89%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    11.3

    -0.18%

  • RELX

    0.4100

    53.09

    +0.77%

Syria deploys forces after dozens killed in Bedouin-Druze clashes
Syria deploys forces after dozens killed in Bedouin-Druze clashes / Photo: Sam HARIRI - AFP

Syria deploys forces after dozens killed in Bedouin-Druze clashes

Syria deployed security forces Monday in the southern province of Sweida after at least 50 people were killed in clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters, a monitor said.

Text size:

The outbreak of sectarian violence underscores the challenges facing the administration of interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose Islamist forces overthrew president Bashar al-Assad in December, in a country reeling from 14 years of war.

The latest fighting, which began Sunday, continued sporadically into Monday in several villages, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor and the Suwayda 24 news outlet.

The clashes reportedly erupted when a Druze vegetable vendor was seized by armed Bedouins on the main highway linking Sweida to Damascus.

The incident triggered a series of retaliatory abductions by both sides. Suwayda 24 said those abducted were released Sunday night.

The Observatory raised its death toll Monday to 50, including 34 Druze -- among them two children -- 10 Bedouins and six members of the security forces. State television confirmed six deaths among the security forces.

The highway between Damascus and Sweida remained closed, said the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

The defence ministry put the toll at 30 dead and around 100 wounded.

Dozens more have been wounded amid armed clashes and mortar fire in Sweida city and nearby villages.

- 'Lack of state institutions' -

Syria's defence and interior ministries announced the deployment of military units to the affected areas, the establishment of safe corridors for civilians, and a commitment to "end the clashes quickly and decisively".

"The lack of state, military and security institutions is a major reason for the ongoing tensions in Sweida," Interior Minister Anas Khattab said Sunday on X.

"The only solution is to reactivate these institutions to ensure civil peace," he added.

The latest unrest follows deadly violence in April and May, when clashes between Druze fighters and security forces in Druze-populated areas near Damascus and Sweida killed more than 100 people.

The Observatory said members of Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslim, had sided with security forces during earlier confrontations.

Local leaders and religious figures brokered agreements at the time to de-escalate the tensions, putting Druze fighters in charge of local security in Sweida since May, though armed Bedouins remain present in several areas.

On Sunday, Sweida governor Mustapha al-Bakur urged his constituents to "exercise self-restraint", while Druze community leaders urged authorities to step in.

In response to the violence, the education ministry announced the postponement of Monday's scheduled secondary school exams in the province.

- Israel and the Druze -

Syria's pre-civil war Druze population numbers around 700,000, many in Sweida province.

The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, and violence occasionally erupts between the two.

A surge in violence in March targeting the Alawite community -- with more than 1,700 killed -- and the subsequent attacks on Druze areas have undermined confidence in the new Syrian authorities' ability to protect minorities.

In the wake of those incidents, Israel -- which has occupied part of Syria's Golan Heights since 1967 -- cited the protection of the Druze to justify several strikes, including one in early May near the presidential palace in Damascus.

Israel is home to around 152,000 Druze, according to the latest available data, including 24,000 living in the Israeli-occupied Golan, of whom fewer than five percent hold Israeli citizenship.

P.E.Steiner--NZN