Passersby on a street in Damascus. Illustrative photo by (Creditb;Mohammad Yassine
Nine people have been killed in sectarian clashes in the majority-Druze suburb of Jaramana near Damascus, an NGO announced Tuesday, with authorities promising to pursue those involved in the skirmishes. These clashes come a month after massacres targeting the Alawite minority from which ousted President Bashar al-Assad comes, overthrown by the Islamist coalition that seized power in December.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), “security forces launched an assault” on Jaramana following the publication on social media of a voice message attributed to a Druze and considered blasphemous towards Islam. AFP has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the message.
The SOHR, based in the United Kingdom but which has a solid network of sources in Syria, stated that six local fighters from Jaramana and three “assailants” were killed. In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the clashes involved “armed groups” before the intervention of security forces, who deployed “to protect residents.” The ministry pledged to “pursue” the armed men involved in the skirmishes, which resulted in “deaths and injuries,” without specifying the number.
'We are afraid'
Several residents of Jaramana reached by phone by AFP reported hearing gunfire exchanges during the night. “We don’t know what’s happening, we’re afraid Jaramana will become a war theater,” said Riham Waqaf, an NGO employee holed up at home with her husband and children. “We were supposed to take my mother to the hospital for treatment, but we couldn’t” leave, added the 33-year-old woman.
Local fighters have deployed in the streets and at the entrances of the locality, asking residents to stay home, said to AFP one of these armed men, Jamal, who did not give his last name. “Jaramana hasn’t seen anything like this in years. The city is usually crowded, but it’s dead today, everyone is home,” he added.
On Tuesday morning, a few businesses opened their doors but the streets of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, predominantly Druze but also home to Christian families, were almost deserted, residents reported.
An AFP correspondent saw local fighters heavily deployed at all access points leading to Jaramana. Meanwhile, forces affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior were deployed on the road to the nearby Damascus International Airport, equipped with armored vehicles and machine guns.
'Unjustified attack'
In a statement, the local Druze religious authorities “vociferously denounced the unjustified armed attack on Jaramana (...) which targeted innocent civilians,” holding the Syrian authorities “fully responsible for what happened and any escalation of the situation.” They denounced at the same time “any abuse of the Prophet Muhammad” and assured that the voice message was fabricated “to provoke sedition.”
The Interior Ministry, for its part, indicated that it was investigating the “blasphemous” message towards Prophet Muhammad to identify the author and bring him to justice. The Druze, an esoteric minority derived from Islam, are mainly spread across Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
Since Bashar al-Assad’s power fell on December 8, after more than 13 years of civil war in Syria, Israel has increased its gestures of opening towards this community. In early March, following skirmishes in Jaramana, Israel threatened military intervention if the new Syrian authorities targeted the Druze.
These statements were immediately rejected by Druze dignitaries, who reaffirmed their commitment to the unity of Syria. Their representatives are negotiating with the central government in Damascus to reach an agreement for the integration of their armed groups into the future national army. Since the Islamist coalition led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was proclaimed interim president, took power, the international community has been calling for the protection of minorities.