Clashes Erupt in Damascus Outskirts, Killing 9

[ad_1] Lethal clashes fueled by sectarian tensions erupted on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at the very least 9 individuals, Syrian officers and a conflict monitoring group mentioned on Tuesday.

The violence erupted in a single day from Monday to Tuesday within the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, which has a big inhabitants from the minority Druse sect. It started after an audio clip circulated on social media of a person insulting the Prophet Muhammad. The clip was attributed to a Druse cleric.

The cleric and Druse non secular figures in Jaramana denied the accusation. The Syrian Inside Ministry mentioned that its preliminary findings confirmed that the cleric was not accountable and appealed for calm.

As public anger over the clip grew, fighters in armored automobiles amassed in a single day exterior Jaramana and started shelling town, in response to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a conflict monitoring group primarily based in Britain. Heavy gun battles additionally broke out.

The audio clip set off demonstrations in a variety of different cities, with a few of the protesters inciting violence in opposition to the Druse, in response to the Observatory.

The Observatory didn't say who was behind the assault on Jaramana, which additionally wounded 17 individuals. However native Druse non secular authorities within the metropolis mentioned in a press release that they held the federal government “totally chargeable for what occurred and any worsening of the scenario.”

As day broke on Tuesday, Syrian safety forces deployed on the outskirts of Jaramana and positioned a safety cordon across the space to forestall further clashes, the inside ministry mentioned, including that members of the federal government’s safety forces had been among the many casualties within the clashes.

This was the newest in waves of sectarian violence in Syria since Islamist rebels overthrew the dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, stoking fears among the many nation’s many minority teams that these rebels — who now management the federal government and army — will marginalize and even goal them.

Lethal combating erupted in Jaramana across the starting of March as nicely, when Druse fought gun battles with the brand new authorities’s safety forces.

Syria is a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, whereas the Druse apply a secretive faith and don't take into account themselves Muslims. The rebels who led the offensive in Syria belonged to a Sunni Islamist group that was as soon as linked to Al Qaeda.

The nation’s new leaders have wrestled to combine the complicated internet of armed teams working throughout the nation into the brand new state equipment. A number of of the strongest Druse militias are in talks with the federal government about their circumstances for integrating into the brand new military.

Syria has already seen one critical wave of sectarian-driving killings final month in two coastal provinces which have giant populations of Alawites, the minority group that the Assad household belongs to. The realm as soon as shaped the heartland of Mr. al-Assad’s base of assist.

The violence started with Assad loyalists launching a coordinated assault on the brand new authorities’s forces within the coastal area. Hundreds of pro-government gunmen then stormed the 2 coastal provinces and killed greater than 1,600 civilians, largely Alawites, inside a couple of days, in response to the Observatory.

The violence underscored the problem Syria’s information leaders are dealing with in controlling the varied armed teams and former rebels who've nominally joined the federal government.

“There may be real concern amongst residents and metropolis residents that the scenario might slide right into a harmful spiral, repeating the grim expertise of the coastal area,” mentioned Rabee Mounzer, a neighborhood official from Jaramana.