This is Beirut

Syria Evacuates Bedouin from Druze-Majority Sweida as Ceasefire Holds

This is Beirut, 21/07 21:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syrian authorities evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida on Monday, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted a week of sectarian bloodshed that a monitor said killed more than 1,260 people. The violence, which followed massacres of Alawites in March and clashes involving the Druze in April and May, has shaken ...

New Clashes Rock Syria's Druze Heartland as Tribal Fighters Reinforce Bedouin

This is Beirut, 19/07 00:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Sweida Syria Druze SOHR

Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland on Friday, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure. The United Nations called for an end to the "bloodshed" and demanded an "independent" investigation of the ...

Syria Monitor Says One Killed in Israeli Strike near Buffer Zone

This is Beirut, 08/06 18:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Israel SOHR

Israel struck southern Syria on Sunday, with a war monitor reporting one killed and the Israeli military saying it had targeted a member of Palestinian militant group Hamas. In the wake of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes and moved forces into the buffer zone that has separated ...

Syria Monitor Says 13 Alawites Killed by Security Forces

This is Beirut, 04/06 23:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Alawite Community SOHR

Syrian forces shot dead eight members of the Alawite minority at a checkpoint on Wednesday, a war monitor said, after reporting that five men were found dead following their detention. Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, the Alawite community which the deposed president hails from has been the target of many attacks, ...

Syria Monitor Says Five Alawites Found Dead after Detention

This is Beirut, 04/06 16:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Alawite Community SOHR

Five men from Syria's Alawite minority were found dead in a hospital two days after being detained by security forces, a war monitor said Wednesday, alleging they had been "summarily executed." Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, the Alawite community, which he hails from, has been the target of many attacks, including ...

Armed Group Attacks Russian Base in Syria

This is Beirut, 20/05 23:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Russia SOHR Hmeimim Air Base

An armed group linked to Syria's new government briefly attacked Russia's Hmeimim air base in western Syria on Tuesday, a war monitor and a witness have said. Located in the coastal Latakia province, the Hmeimim base served as a refuge for thousands of people who fled March's sectarian violence, where over 1,700 mostly Alawite people were ...

Woman Killed as Gunmen Attack Damascus Nightclub

This is Beirut, 05/05 16:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Damascus SOHR

Armed men opened fire inside a club in Damascus on Monday, killing a woman, according to a witness and a war monitor, the second attack in a week targeting the Syrian capital's nightlife. The perpetrators or their motives were unknown. Some Syrians have expressed fears that the country's new Islamist authorities would seek to impose restrictions ...

100 People Killed in Sectarian Clashes in Syria

This is Beirut, 01/05 18:36 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

syria conflict druze SOHR

At least 100 people have been killed in Syria over two days of sectarian violence, most of them Druze fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Thursday. Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Thursday condemned what he called a "genocidal campaign" against his people. In a statement, Hijri ...

Syria Monitor: 14 Killed as Druze Fighters Clash with Security Forces Near Damascus

This is Beirut, 29/04 20:52 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria Conflict Religion Druze SOHR

A Syria war monitor on Tuesday said 14 people, including seven Druze fighters, were killed in sectarian clashes near Damascus, as authorities blamed "gunmen" and vowed to pursue those involved. The overnight clashes, sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous, were met with condemnation from ...

Israel Says 'Striking Military Targets' in Southern Syria

This is Beirut, 17/03 21:44 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Israel Daraa SOHR

Israel's military said on Monday it was striking military sites in southern Syria, as Syrian state media reported two killed in an Israeli strike near the southern city of Daraa. "The [Israeli military] is currently striking military targets in southern Syria, including command centers and military sites containing weapons and military ...

Syria Announces End to 'Military Operation' After Mass Killings

This is Beirut, 10/03 17:41 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria Bashar al-Assad SOHR Latakia Tartus

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after more than 1,000 civilians were killed in the worst violence since his overthrow. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces and allied groups had killed 1,068 civilians, the vast majority ...

Syria Forces Beef Up Security Amid Reports of Mass Killings of Alawites

This is Beirut, 08/03 18:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Syria SOHR Bashar al-Assad

Syrian security forces deployed heavily in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast on Saturday, after a war monitor reported that government and allied forces killed at least 745 civilians from the religious minority in recent days. Residents of the region continued to report killings of civilians after deadly clashes broke out on ...

SOHR