
Israel strikes armored Syrian forces that entered the Druze city of Sueda
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It is reported that the number of people killed in the clashes in Suez, where the Druze minority lives heavily in southern Syria, has risen to two hundred. There are also reports that the ceasefire has broken down.
Israeli attacks were also added to the clashes after the Damascus administration sent armored troops to the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack targeted weapons and government forces sent to Suez.
After the clashes that began on Sunday, Israel is targeting Damascus forces in the region for the second time.
Condemning the Israeli attack, the Damascus government announced that security forces and civilians were killed.
According to a Reuters reporter, the sound of drones was heard over the city of Suez. The reporter reported that after at least four explosions, he saw a damaged tank and at least three bodies.
The American Axios news website reports that the White House has sent a request to Binyamin Netanyahu to stop its attacks in Syria.
Tuesday July 15, it was announced that a ceasefire had been reached.
However, the statements and developments made indicate that the ceasefire is breaking down.
Druze Sheikh Hikmet al-Hajri, quoted by Reuters, claimed that government forces had broken the ceasefire and called for a response.
People from the region who spoke to the French AFP news agency also say that the ceasefire announcement has not made much of an impact on the ground.
The same people accuse government troops and their accompanying fighters of attacking Druze neighborhoods.
The Syrian Interior Ministry also acknowledged that clashes were continuing.
According to the state news agency SANA, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Kasra announced that military police had been sent to Sueyda.
Kasra said the military police had been deployed to “control the soldiers’ practices and hold those who violate them accountable.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the death toll in the clashes has reached 200.
SOHR, basing its news on local sources, claims that 19 Druze civilians were “executed” in Suez on Tuesday.
How did the clashes start?
Dec Sundays have been going on due to clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in the region.
It is believed that the events began with the kidnapping of a Druze trader on the Damascus-Suez highway.
Violence Decayed from time to time between the Sunni Bedouin tribes and the Druze communities in the region.
Sunday July 13, the clashes erupted and spread to the Al-Maqwas neighborhood where the Bedouins live.
Druze forces blockaded and seized the neighborhood, it said.
Later, the clashes spilled over to other parts of Sueyda as the Bedouins targeted Druze settlements in the west and north of the province.
“This is the first time sectarian conflict is breaking out in Suez city, if it doesn’t end we are heading for a bloodbath,” Rayan Marouf, a Druze researcher who runs the Suez 24 website, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The Druze are worried about their safety, despite the assurances of the government.
Suez province is mostly under the control of Druze militias, who refuse to join government forces.
The Druze argued that the Damascus administration was violating the agreement reached after the clashes in May.
Druze leaders claim that their movement is not against the Damascus administration and that it was agreed with the state “months ago” about the establishment of a uniformed security unit that would include Druze groups.
Syria was home to 700 thousand Druze before the civil war broke out in 2011.
The majority of the minority still lives in Suez prefecture.