Suwayda
\nFighting between Bedouin tribes and local fighters in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda in southern Syria has killed more than 30 people and injured 100 others, the Syrian Ministry of Interior says.
\nThe ministry late on Sunday expressed deep concern and sorrow over the \u201cbloody developments\u201d that took place between \u201clocal armed groups and tribes\u201d in eastern Suwayda \u2018s Maqwas neighbourhood.
\n\u201cIn this context, the Ministry of Interior confirms that units of its forces, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense, will intervene directly in the region to resolve the conflict, stop clashes, impose security, prosecute those responsible for the events, and refer them to the competent judiciary,\u201d it said in a statement.
\nThe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that at least 37 people were killed, 27 of them Druze, including two children.
\n\u201cThere is no solution to this except imposing security [measures] and activating the role of institutions to ensure civil peace and the return of life to its normal state in all its details,\u201d Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a post on X.
\nThe Druze religious sect is a minority group that originated as a 10th-century offshoot of a branch of Shia Islam. In Syria, they primarily reside in the southern Suwayda province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.
\nSunday\u2019s clashes are the first outbreak of deadly violence in the area since fighting between members of the Druze community and security forces killed dozens of people in April and May.
\nIt was triggered by a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Suwayda, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.
\n\u201cThis cycle of violence has exploded in a terrifying way, and if it doesn\u2019t end, we are heading towards a bloodbath,\u201d said Rayan Marouf, a Druze researcher based in Suwayda who runs the Suwayda24 website.
\nArmed Bedouin tribesmen also launched attacks on Druze villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city, residents said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Suwayda Fighting between Bedouin tribes and local fighters in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda in southern Syria has killed more than 30 people and injured 100 others, the Syrian Ministry of Interior says. The ministry late on Sunday expressed deep concern and sorrow over the \u201cbloody developments\u201d that took place between \u201clocal armed groups […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-490313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n