At the least 9 folks have been killed in a suburb of the Syrian capital after clashes broke out between pro-government fighters and native Druze gunmen, in accordance with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The combating in Damascus’ suburb of Jaramana is the newest episode of sectarian violence in Syria because the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December.
It was sparked after an audio clip circulated on social media of a person attacking Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. It was attributed to Marwan Kiwan, a Druze cleric, who later denied being concerned.
The clip angered many Sunni Muslims and led to the combating within the predominantly Druze Jaramana.
“I categorically deny that the audio was made by me,” Kiwan stated in a video he posted on-line. “I didn’t say that and whoever made it’s an evil man who needs to incite strife between elements of the Syrian folks.”
The Inside Ministry stated in an announcement it was investigating the audio clip, including that its preliminary probe confirmed the cleric was not accountable. The ministry urged folks to abide by the legislation and to not act in a approach that undermines safety.
A ministry spokesperson, Mustafa al-Abdo, stated two members of Syria’s Common Safety Service had been among the many lifeless, including that safety forces went to interrupt up the clashes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated six Druze fighters from Jaramana and three “attackers” had been additionally killed.
The Druze non secular sect is a minority group that started as a Tenth-century offshoot of Ismailism, a department of Shiite Islam.
Over half of the roughly a million Druze worldwide reside in Syria. Many of the different Druze reside in Lebanon and Israel, together with within the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria within the 1967 conflict and formally annexed in 1981.
The worst inside clashes in Syria since al-Assad’s fall occurred final month within the nation’s coastal area and concerned members of the minority Alawite sect that the previous president belonged to.
The clashes between Assad loyalists and authorities forces had been accompanied by revenge killings that left greater than 1,000 folks lifeless, together with a whole bunch of civilians, in accordance with the conflict monitor Syrian Community for Human Rights.
Sectarian stress in Syria stays prevalent, even because the nation’s new leaders try to combine the fragmented armed teams below one authority.
Some Druze fighters have resisted this, saying Damascus has failed to ensure their safety from hostile militants, and fears stay amongst minority teams of being marginalised by the rebels that overthrew Assad.
Extra sources • AP
