Syrian security forces restore order after communal Druze-Sunni violence in Damascus

Suweida and the Damascus suburbs witnessed a night of relative calm on Wednesday night following two days of communal clashes between armed Sunni and Druze civilians, after General Security moved into flashpoint towns to restore order.

Fighting has erupted in Ashrafieh Sahnaya and Jaramana over the past two days, two Damascus suburbs with large Druze populations, sparked by the circulation of a video allegedly of a Druze religious leader insulting the Prophet Muhammad — something the cleric strongly denies — which sparked sectarian protests against the Druze and clashes between armed groups.

The fighting, which has included the use of heavy weaponry, has seen 36 people killed and 12 missing, according to a correspondent with The New Arab's Arabic-language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, with General Security forces moving into contested areas on Wednesday as armed groups withdrew to restore order.

"In Ashrafiya Sahnaya, the situation calmed after a fragile agreement with General Security — where it was decided peace would be imposed in the two villages by way of a joint force from the two sides —  Druze and General Security after the young men who wanted to be part of the guard joined up with General Security," said Deiaa Sehnawee, Syria correspondent for Al-Araby Al-Jaddeed, told The New Arab.

"In Suweida, the situation is calm this morning after a turbulent night in several areas especially in the Rasas, Era and Kanaker villages after there were attacks by gunmen  - it is unknown whether they were from Daraa or were Bedouins - and after midnight ambulances, in coordination with General Security and the Red Crescent entered Sura Al-Kabira village which had been occupied by armed attackers, who then left. Then the bodies of those killed were collected from the village and from the sides of the Damascus-Suweida road."

Israel has been heavily criticised for taking advantage of the recent chaos to launch airstrikes on security forces in southern Syria and the Damascus suburbs, with threats by leading government figures that Israel "will not allow harm to the Druze community".

The interim government has condemned the Israeli threats, saying it rejects all forms of "foreign intervention" and Syrian security forces will protect all citizens, including the Druze, an offshoot of Ismaili Islam that became a separate religion during the Fatimid Empire.

"[Syria] affirms its unwavering commitment to protect all components of the Syrian people… including the children of the honorable Druze community," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.

On Thursday, one of Syria's three Sheikh Al-Aql — religious leaders for the community concentrated in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria — condemned the "unjustifiable genocidal campaign" against the Druze and called for international intervention.

Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel - who unlike their cohorts in Syria and Lebanon are generally supportive of the Israeli state - has also called on the Israeli government to support the Druze of Syria.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has allowed hundreds of Druze religious figures to visit an important shrine in the Galilee area from Syria, despite the two countries being officially at war.

On Wednesday, Israel brought three injured Syrian Druze into the country for treatment following an Israeli attack on an "extremist group" close to Damascus, in a move also seen as an attempt by Israel to gain influence in the south of Syria.

In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to invade Syria as far as the Damascus suburb of Jaramana to "protect" the Druze after communal violence, who are only around 3 percent of the Syrian population but a majority in Suweida province and some towns in the Damascus suburbs.

Syrian Druze leaders have rejected Israeli overtures of "assistance" — seeing it as an attempt to divide Syria — but have also warned about "extremist gangs", which many believe are linked to the government and are blamed by Druze for the recent episode of violence in southern Syria.