Syrian forces deployed in Jaramana to end unrest

Security forces determination into Damascus suburb to reconstruct bid portion Israeli warnings spark section backlash.

Syria has deployed information forces successful Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, to reconstruct bid aft a quality astatine a checkpoint led to the sidesplitting of a Syrian information serviceman and the wounded of different by a militia linked to Bashar al-Assad’s erstwhile regime.

The determination to deploy forces precocious connected Sunday follows the refusal of section militias to manus implicit suspects progressive successful Friday’s incident.

“Our forces person begun deploying successful Jaramana aft those progressive successful the assassination of Ahmed Al-Khatib, a Defence Ministry employee, refused to surrender,” Lieutenant Colonel Hussam al-Tahan told the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Al-Tahan added that the cognition aims to dismantle amerciable checkpoints operated by equipped groups accused of kidnapping, execution and equipped robbery. Calm had begun to instrumentality aft negotiations betwixt Ministry of Interior forces and section leaders, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

Jaramana, a densely populated suburb, is predominantly inhabited by Druze and Christian communities. The Druze unrecorded chiefly successful Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

Israeli subject order

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau said connected Saturday that orders had been fixed to the Israeli service to “prepare to defend” Jaramana’s Druze population.

Jaramana residents cheer the rebel violative that overthrew Bashar al-Assad connected December 8, 2024 [File: Louai Beshara/AFP]

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Jaramana was “under onslaught by the forces of the Syrian regime” and Israel is “committed to our Druze brothers successful Israel to bash everything to forestall harm to their Druze brothers successful Syria”.

Israel is occupying Syria’s Golan Heights, wherever a sizeable Druze assemblage lives and which lies little than 100km (62 miles) from Jaramana.

About 18,000 Druze successful Golan person rejected Israeli citizenship portion astir 140,000 surviving wrong the authorities of Israel person accepted it.

Israel has besides been launching aerial strikes connected parts of confederate Syria and has been violating a demilitarised portion betwixt the 2 countries.

Jaramana leaders dismissed the Israeli statements arsenic interference.

“Let Israel accidental what it wants. We are portion of Syria,” Jaramana nonmigratory Issa Abdul Haq, 53, told the AFP quality agency.

A antheral from the Druze colony of Majdal Shams adjacent the ‘Alpha Line, which separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria [File: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo]

‘Vigilance against Israel’s schemes successful Syria’

In November, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel indispensable leverage different determination minorities, peculiarly Kurdish and Druze communities, to beforehand its aims successful the region.

Lebanese Druze person Walid Jumblatt called connected Syria’s Druze assemblage to stay “vigilant against Israel’s schemes successful Syria” at a quality league successful Beirut connected Sunday.

Jumblatt, the erstwhile caput of the Progressive Socialist Party, besides cautioned against what helium said were broader efforts to undermine Arab nationalist information and said helium would sojourn Syria to sermon developments.

“I person requested a gathering with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa adjacent week,” Jumblatt stated. He expressed assurance successful Syrian Arab leaders from divers backgrounds to antagonistic what helium described arsenic Israel’s “diabolical plan”.

As Jaramana stabilises, the incidental highlights the fragile equilibrium betwixt section governance, determination tensions and outer influences successful post-conflict Syria.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies