Druze, Syria and Bedouin
Digest more
15h
Naharnet on MSNAmid fragile ceasefire, violence in southern Syria brings Druze communities’ complex cross-border ties to the fore
When the Syrian civil war erupted in March 2011, Syrian Druze were targeted at times by both the Assad regime, which pressured them to support it, and by Islamist rebel groups that regarded them as infidels. The Druze straddled a fine line throughout the war, seeking, not always successfully, to be left on their own.
An American citizen from Oklahoma was among eight men, all family members, rounded up and killed during the sectarian violence that flared in Syria last week.
3don MSN
US envoy says Syria and Israel agree to ceasefire as Druze minority and Bedouin clans clash in Syria
U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack says that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire following Israel’s intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and .
Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday.
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.
Israeli officials urged Druze citizens to stay home to avoid risking their lives amid ongoing violence in Syria. The Druze, historically navigating power shifts, remain politically divided after Assad's fall.
Syrian government forces largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country's post-war transition and brought in more Israeli airstrikes in defense of the Druze.
MAZRAA, Syria — Syrian government forces prepared to return to a southern region Friday after renewed clashes broke out between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans, leaving tens of thousands of people displaced in a worsening humanitarian crisis.