The Syrian government deployed its forces in the Druze-majority city of Sweida, in a bid by the Islamist authorities to extend their power to the area controlled by local armed groups.
Why did authorities take this major step, and what could follow?
– How did it begin? –
Clashes began on Sunday between factions from the Druze religious minority and Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslim, killing more than 100 people.
The two sides have a longstanding feud in Sweida.
Syrian government forces sent reinforcements to the region, in the country’s south, saying they want to reestablish security.
But according to witnesses, Druze armed groups and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, government forces and allied groups including Bedouins took control on Monday of several villages near Sweida that were previously run by Druze fighters.
On Tuesday, following contacts between Damascus authorities and notables from Sweida, the Syrian defence ministry announced a ceasefire after government forces had entered the city.
Before then, Sweida, home to around 150,000 people, was controlled by various Druze factions.
Syria’s three main Druze spiritual leaders, who sometimes hold differing views on political issues, called on local fighters on Tuesday to lay down their arms.
However, Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the leaders, then accused Damascus of failing to uphold its commitment to enter Sweida peacefully and called for “resisting this brutal campaign by all available means”.
Terrified residents of Sweida have reported numerous abuses since the entry of government troops and their allies, including executions, looting and burning houses.
– What future awaits the Druze factions? –
The new Islamist authorities, who seized power after overthrowing longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, had demanded the dissolution of all armed groups and their integration into the forces of the defence ministry.
During Syria’s 14-year civil war, which started after Assad’s violent repression of peaceful protests in 2011, the Druze formed their own armed groups to protect their heartland in Sweida away from major battles.
In January, the two largest groups, the Men of Dignity movement and the Mountain Brigade, said they were ready to join the new national army.
“The state has been stalling the implementation of this agreement,” Men of Dignity spokesperson Bassem Fakhr told AFP.
Aside from the Druze, the Kurds, who control vast territories in the country’s northeast, have a powerful armed wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and are negotiating with Damascus for their integration into the armed forces.
Prior to the war, the Druze in Syria numbered around 700,000, or three percent of the population.
The Druze are followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, and are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
– Why is Israel intervening? –
Since the fall of Assad, Israel expanded its overture to Syria’s Druze through notable Israeli coreligionists.
It sent humanitarian parcels and allowed delegations of religious dignitaries to go to Israel on pilgrimage, despite an official state of war with Syria.
In March, Israel expressed its intention to defend the Druze following skirmishes in the suburbs of Damascus, but these remarks were immediately rejected by Druze dignitaries, who reaffirmed their commitment to the unity of Syria.
Israel has bombed several Syrian military positions in Sweida since Monday.
“We will not allow harm to the Druze in Syria,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said, adding his country will “not stand idly by”.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with Katz said they “are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them and to ensure the demilitarisation of the area adjacent to our border with Syria”.
at/nad/ami
© Agence France-Presse
