This is Beirut, 20/07 14:46 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, a monitor and AFP correspondents reported, after a week of sectarian violence between Druze fighters and rival groups that killed more than 1,000 people. A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end fighting between longtime rivals ...
Amine Jules Iskandar, 20/07 09:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon Syria Jordan Middle East Iraq
In the Levant, Islam took root in the major Mediterranean coastal cities—Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Sidon, Beirut, Tripoli, Tartus and Latakia. Surrounded by Christian and Jewish hill communities or overshadowed by dominant Christian mountain ranges, these urban populations never felt isolated. Instead, they saw themselves as fully integrated into the ...
This is Beirut, 20/07 05:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
United States Syria Washington Damascus
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent jihadists from entering and "carrying out massacres" in the conflict-stricken south of the country. "If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria... they must ...
This is Beirut, 19/07 17:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Sweida Druze Israel United States
Syrian Bedouin and their allies fought Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland for a seventh day Saturday despite a ceasefire ordered by the government following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention. AFP correspondents reported clashes in the west of the provincial capital as Druze fighters battled ...
This is Beirut, 19/07 00:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
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 ...
This is Beirut, 18/07 15:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Sweida Lebanon Tribes Syria Conflict Druze
The Arab tribes of Khaldeh and Mount Lebanon released a firm statement on Friday condemning the violence in Syria’s Sweida province, describing it as a “dangerous sedition” that threatens Syria’s unity and could spill into Lebanon. In a heartfelt appeal, the tribes addressed their Syrian counterparts, especially those in Sweida and Daraa, ...
This is Beirut, 18/07 15:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanon Joseph Aoun prisons Syria Sweida
President Joseph Aoun chaired a ministerial and security meeting on Friday morning at the Presidential Palace, primarily focused on the situation in Lebanese prisons and the aggravating issue of overcrowding. The participants discussed urgent measures to address the saturation of detention facilities, particularly concerning judicial procedures, ...
Sana Richa Choucair, 18/07 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Clashes between Druze groups and government forces backed by tribal militias in the Syrian city of Sweida have claimed more than 500 lives since Sunday. Alongside this unprecedented wave of violence in this southern region, several Lebanese municipalities, mostly in Druze villages, have introduced preventive measures against foreigners, especially ...
This is Beirut, 18/07 14:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The United Nations rights chief demanded on Friday that Syria's interim authorities ensure accountability after days of deadly clashes in the southern city of Sweida that reportedly left hundreds dead. "This bloodshed and the violence must stop and the protection of all people must be the utmost priority," Volker Turk said in a ...
This is Beirut, 18/07 13:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters outside Sweida Friday a day after government troops withdrew from the Druze-majority city, the warring parties and a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "clashes west of Sweida pitting tribal fighters and Bedouin supported by ...
This is Beirut, 18/07 12:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Israel Druze Ahmad al-Sharaa
Under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure, Ahmed al-Sharaa pulled troops from Syria's Druze heartland -- a move that exposes the interim leader's weakness just as he sought to assert control. Since seizing office in December after ousting longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa has worked to recast himself from jihadist to statesman, ...
This is Beirut, 18/07 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Syria Druze bedouin mobilization Israel
Tensions continue to rise in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida in southern Syria. A spokesperson for the Syrian Interior Ministry said that government forces were preparing to redeploy to the city of Sweida in order to put an end to the ongoing clashes between Druze and Bedouin communities. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon ...