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Israel Strikes Syria, Citing Threat to Druze Community Amid Rising Tensions

This is Beirut, 30/04 19:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Benjamin Netanyahu Damascus Druze

Israel has confirmed a strike in southern Syria targeting what it described as an "extremist group" preparing to attack members of the Druze minority in the town of Sahnaya, near Damascus. According to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the operation served as a warning and was aimed at preventing further ...

Abi Al-Muna Warns of Sectarian Provocations Following Deadly Clashes in Syria

This is Beirut, 30/04 18:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Druze community ISLAM Sami Abil-Mona Druze Religious Council

Sheikh Sami Abi Al-Muna, the Sheikh Akl (spiritual leader) of the Druze community in Lebanon, strongly condemned recent violence in the Syrian town of Jaramana, describing it as “a deliberate attempt to provoke sectarian strife,” triggered by an incendiary audio recording deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. In a statement issued ...

Syria's Druze: A Minority Caught Between Islamist Government and Israel

This is Beirut, 30/04 17:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

Syria's small Druze community largely kept out of the country's long civil war, but since President Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December, it has found itself confronting the new Islamist-led government amid military intervention by Israel. Here is a profile of the religious minority that has been caught up in deadly clashes with armed ...

16 Killed as Sectarian Clashes Near Damascus Spread: Authorities, Monitor

This is Beirut, 30/04 15:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus Israel syria

Sectarian clashes between forces linked to Syria's new authorities and Druze fighters spread overnight near Damascus, leaving 16 people dead, state media and a monitor said Wednesday. The expanding violence is a major challenge to the Islamist authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December and comes after sectarian massacres ...

Joumblatt Steps In to End Deadly Clashes Near Damascus as Israel Strikes Syria

This is Beirut, 30/04 15:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Israel Druze Walid Joumblatt Syria Islamists

A ceasefire between gunmen linked to Syrian authorities and Druze fighters was reportedly reached on Wednesday, following intensive mediation by former Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Joumblatt. The effort involved contacts with the new Syrian administration, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, according to al-Markazia news ...

From Homs to Damascus: An Alarming Escalation of Tensions Between Sunnis and Druze

This is Beirut, 29/04 16:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Druze Islamists HTS fighting

Sectarian tensions between the Sunni and Druze communities are alarmingly resurging in Syria. From Homs to the outskirts of Damascus, to Sweida, a Druze heartland south of Syria, several violent incidents have reignited sectarian divisions in a country still deeply scarred by more than a decade of war. Clashes in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana ...

UAE Federal National Council President Hails Lebanon's Reforms

This is Beirut, 24/04 12:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus United Arab Emirates Lebanon Nawaf Salam

On a visit to Lebanon since Monday, UAE Federal National Council President Saqr Ghobash hailed Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's “clear and responsible positions,” underlining the Emirates' confidence in Lebanon's ability to regain its regional role. During his meeting with Salam at the Grand Serail on Thursday, he congratulated Lebanon on the ...

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Says Syria Detaining Two Group Officials

This is Beirut, 22/04 15:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Damascus Hamas Israel

Palestinian group Islamic Jihad's armed wing said Tuesday that Syria's new authorities had detained two of the group's officials and called for their release. A statement from the Al-Quds Brigades said Islamic Jihad's Syria official Khaled Khaled and organising committee member Yasser al-Zafri had been detained in Syria for five days "without ...

Syria: Hours of Waiting… for a Few Dollars

This is Beirut, 18/04 19:08 - Reading : less than a minute

Damascus Syria crisis liquidity dollars

In Damascus, lines stretch in front of ATMs. Amid a severe liquidity crisis, Syrians sometimes wait for hours to withdraw the equivalent of 20 dollars a day. This is daily life in a country where 90% of the population lives below the poverty line.

HTS: From a Jihadist Group to a Military Power

Marie de La Roche Saint-André, 18/04 13:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Damascus Gulf Israel HTS Al Nusra

Over the years, Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has built a substantial military arsenal and established a force that is both professional and cohesive – an accomplishment that posed a significant challenge when the group was formed in 2017, following the merger of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra) with five other jihadist ...

Sharaa–Bin Laden: Reversed Paths!

Marc Saikali, 17/04 13:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Israel HTS Ahmad al-Sharaa Syria Bachar el Assad

Let it be crystal clear: no Syrian, no Lebanese, no Palestinian… regrets the fall of the Khmer Rouge of the Levant. The Assad dynasty, guilty of crimes against humanity and large-scale massacres against its own people, as well as those of “brotherly” countries, has finally fallen after fourteen years of civil war. The problem is that today, ...

Syria Leader in Qatar for First Time since Assad Fall

This is Beirut, 15/04 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Gulf Israel Joseph Aoun

Syria's new president arrived in Qatar on Tuesday, state media said, for his first official visit to the Gulf state, a key backer of the new administration after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's ouster. The official Qatar News Agency reported Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Shareh on his arrival at ...

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