Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Heavy clashes broke out in a suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, early on April 29, between local fighters from the Druze religious minority and forces affiliated with the Islamist-led interim government.
The clashes in the suburb of Jaramana, located some three kilometers to the southeast of Damascus, broke out after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man attacking Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The clip angered many Sunni Muslims who took to the streets to protest in several parts of the country, with some even demanding “the extermination of Druze.”
The audio was attributed to Druze cleric Marwan Kiwan, who later denied the accusation in a video posted to social networks.
“I categorically deny that the audio was made by me,” Kiwan said in the video. “I did not say that and whoever made it is an evil man who wants to incite strife between components of the Syrian people.”
From its side, the Interior Ministry said in a statement it was investigating the audio, 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. It also deployed security forces around Jaramana in an attempt to stop the clashes, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the clashes claimed the lives of six Jaramana locals and left at least 15 others wounded. At least three pro-government fighters were also killed, according to the London-based monitoring group.
While the fiercest clashes took place in Jaramana, exchange of fire between pro-government fighters and Druze locals was also reported in the nearby towns of Sahnaya and Kanaker with heavy weapons, including mortars and anti-aircraft guns, being used.
Amid the deadly clashes, Israeli fighter jets and combat drones were reported spotted flying over Jaramana and nearby areas.
The clashes also led to tensions in the Druze-majority governorate of al-Suwayda, where local factions which refused to disarm after the fall of the Assad regime last December amassed thousands of heavily-armed fighters.
Druze fighters, including those from Jaramana, played a key role in the final assault on Damascus. However, they were sidelined by the Islamists who took over the country.
Since then, tensions between the minority group and the government have been on the rise. Government forces were confronted by Druze fighters while attempting to enter al-Suwayda on new year’s eve.
In March, a more serious escalation took place when government forces surrounded Jaramana and threatened to attack Druze fighters guarding the city. However, the situation was defused after Israel threatened to defend the city, citing the historic relation between its own Druze population and those in Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have since publicly warned the Syrian government not to harm the Druze.
Druze leaders, including the spiritual head of the group in Syria Hikmat al-Hijri, later took a more bold stance in the face of the government, first rejecting the constitution decree which gave interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa absolute powers, then criticizing the government formed later for its lack of inclusivity.
The clashes near Damascus will likely push the Druze to take a more radical stance. This shows how the inability and unwillingness of Syria’s Islamist rulers to build meaningful relations with the minorities, whether Druze, Alawites, Christians or Kurds, is fragmenting the country.
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as this scum was concentrated in idlib, it was a sadly missed chance to bomb them all to hell. now these islamists are all over syria.
the problem was they were allowed to leave allepo when it was liberated on green buses for idlib i said it was insane at the time.
but, but, but, these russians are right into agreements with their adversaries , especially if they’re on the ascendancy in a military situation, which they were then.
a paradoxical enigma with this crowd. as long as they don’t rock the boat too much with their old partners, then to hell with any unfortunates that have signed up as allies.
putin was bribed by erdogan and qatar, otherwise he would never have allowed this.
cia buses.
i hope the israelis will protect the druze and allow their idf druze ghassan alian to wipe out these terrorists. if they don’t do this, i will pray to god that both trump and netanyahu go to prison for the fraud and financial malfeasance that they have committed and are still committing.
i dont support druze or fsa but i hope islamist bomb israel and kill all jews
the fsa would deserve to be coupled by an idf locomotive like a wagon.
jews are worst than all
isis terrorists and hts are one and the same group, they just occasionally quarrel and sometimes even fight each other. but mostly they are one group of crazy psychopaths, like those who are locked up in a maximum security insane asylum. these are such uyghur dangerous madmens that china should demand the exclusion of russia from brics because russia cooperates with them.
if donald trump were an honest man and not just a crooked businessman, he would order the closure of all syrian borders and temporarily hand syria over to israel with the instructions: “catch and kill all terrorists, you know that.”
you bomb them you will kill many civilian too you idiot…
these druze morons helped overthrow assad? you really cant fix stupid.
druze is israel puppet they both hate assad
the druze did not hate assad because they knew they would be slaughtered without him by isis. druze people called and sent messages to ghassan alian’s private number, asking him to stop hts. if netanyahu disagrees with ghassan alian and the annexation of the druze to israel, i will pray to god that netanyahu goes to prison. i beg little my, if she reads this, to start praying to the devil. the druze must be israelis, just as the russians recognized russian-speaking ukrainians as russians.
let the empire dogs (druzes, kurds and jihadists) kill themselves! russia should get out of this shithole!
and sell the bases to israel if israel signs a contract to take good care of those alawites living in the base.
those pricks have turned syria into libya they are busy killing other syrians while the zionist pigs take what they want they must be laughingt heir heads off.
this was made up by putin, erdogan and netanyahu.
inhuman savages. lots of good targets for the usa since they like using aircraft to attack from the sky. one should hope none of these savages when the get older want to travel to or move to the west, they must never be allowed to leave syria. knuckle dragging savages know nothing how to build or be normal, only know how to stupidly fire weapons into the sky and hunt in cowardly packs.
and kidnap women and children, rape them and sell them. given that russia wants to make a deal with him, i will write to modi and da silva to exclude russia from brics.
i hope that instead of netanyahu, an even more right-wing israeli man or woman (as crazzy as the milosevic frau) comes along and orders: “ghassan alian, annex all the way to damascus and half of damascus.”
interesting and here i thought the druze made a deal with the empire that will keep the headchoppers away from them.
without a referendum like the one that took place in four parts of ukraine, not even ghassan alian can simply repeat putin (the confiscation of four ukrainian regions).
druze are always a traitor . first they helped this terrorist. to take power now they are crying and want to fight this islamist. druze agenda is only one destroye syria and align with zionist israel to enjoy life . they are anti islam from the begning . never trust a druze
the main traitor is the ass, now two of his cousins, ribal a ass (dump’s colleague) and rami makhlouf (a fraudulent businessman), claim that the ass destroyed syria. dump is a fraudulent businessman and us boss. the druze of israel should take idf weapons and go to the other side of the mountain and declare sweida and the golan heights as sovereign druze state or an israeli canton.
so the druze have finally taken up self defence against al qaeda cia / zionist army . about time survival instincts took hold .
i hope the idf will give them with at least advanced weapons, something on the level of stringers, f-35s, and of course, bombs heavier than three tons and auf corse thaad and ghassan alian will do something that will make damascus end up like knin did during the time of ante gotovina.
syrian terrorist government is part and parcel of us,france,britain and israel middle est and east, asia annexation plan.
i hope they will bring this matter to light and ghassan alian will do with damascus what ante gotovina did with knin.
some of this terrorist bom planners were openly relocate to ukraine by erdogan,macron,borist and biden.warmongers still believe whatever their do is forceful and non negotiable or untouchable.
biden’s ukraine was not untouchable, and i hope biden’s syria will not be untouchable either, and that it will be tacted by israel’s hand, just as russia’s hand tacted ukraine.
as long as putin take one man decision this type of things will happen.putin should have never allowed erdogan to play buddy buddy while implementing microns plans.bidden always let go macron plans
putler is a bastard who takes qatari money, the other bastard is trump, who also takes qatari money.
this hts would deserve to be attacked by a squadron of idf bombers led by ghassan alian. then the annexation of all druze to israel. because this unelected dictator is just as crazy as zelensky and therefore deserves to have 20% of his territory taken away by a neighboring country.
burn down hts headquarters by israel and seize damascus, just as the croats burned down serbian headquarters and took knin for themselves. it would be nice to watch ghassan alian throw jolani out of the presidential palace and kick jolani go to aleppo and then aleppo would be the capital of syria.