Syria, Druze and Bedouin
Digest more
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Israeli airstrikes on Damascus are hampering Syria's efforts to find and destroy chemical weapons stockpiled during the rule of toppled ruler Bashar al-Assad, a government adviser said on Thursday.
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Saturday to "fully commit" to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with Druze-linked militias that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country's postwar transition.
The Syrian government says clashes in the southern city of Suwayda have stopped after a week of violence left hundreds of people dead, drawing Israeli intervention and US condemnation.
3don MSN
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes Wednesday on Syria’s Defense Ministry in Damascus, causing injuries in an escalating conflict with the new Syrian government, according to an Israeli military statement and Syrian state television.
Explore more
The Israeli military said it had "struck the entrance gate" of the Syrian regime's military headquarters complex in Damascus.
Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.
2d
DPA International on MSNNetanyahu says Syrian troops barred from region south of DamascusIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Syrian government troops will be blocked from the area south of the capital Damascus to protect the Druze minority following Israel's attacks in the country earlier this week.
Clan fighters gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday to support Bedouin militants in their clashes with Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida despite calls for a ceasefire.
Secretary of State Rubio says the U.S. is "very concerned" by expanding Israeli strikes targeting Syria's new government, and he wants "the fighting to stop."
The challenge now is whether the two sides can de-escalate. Numerous Bedouin tribes from across Syria mobilized to fight in Sweida.
3don MSN
Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and as Israel threatened to escalate its involvement, saying it's in support of the Druze religious minority.