Illustrative image. (The Syrian Arab News Agency)
Fierce clashes broke out over the night of March 25 and 26 in the town of Sahnaya, located some eight kilometers to the south of the Syrian capital of Damascus, between local fighters from the Druze religious minority and Sunni tribal fighters from the eastern governorate of Deir Ezzor.
Some Syrian media sources said that the clashes started when the local fighter assaulted a man from Deir Ezzor along with his sister, while others tied the clashes to the earlier murder of a man from Deir Ezzor in Sahnaya which was blamed on Druze armed groups.
Before the outbreak of the war in Syria, Sahanya was a Druzo-Christian town. Recently, however, and due to the fighting in the country, other religious groups, mainly Sunnis, moved to live in Sahnaya, especially from Deir Ezzor and other eastern governorates.
Fighters from both sides were reportedly killed or wounded during the clashes, which ended with the deployment of security personnel.
Footage posted to social networks after the clashes showed the tribal fighters and others allegedly from security forces, firing at houses and chanting sectarian slurs.
The clashes in Sahnaya came just weeks after a government crackdown on the coast claimed the lives of more than 1,600 civilians, mostly members from the Alawite religious minority. While the government said that its forces were chasing “remnants” of the Assad regime, the killings were largely motivated by sectarianism.
Unlike the Alawites, the Druze refused to hand over their weapons after the fall of the regime and maintained de-facto control over their heartland, the southeastern governorate of al-Suwayda, in addition to Sahnaya and the nearby city of Jaramana.
The forces of Syria’s Islamist-led interim government were confronted by Druze fighters while attempting to enter al-Suwayda on new year’s eve.
Earlier this month, a more serious escalation took place when government forces surrounded Jaramana and threatened to attack Druze fighters guarding the city. However, the situation was defused after Israel threatened to defend the city, citing the historic relation between its own Druze population and those in Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have since publicly warned the Syrian government not to harm the Druze.
Still, tensions between the government and Druze continue to grow. Very recently, Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of Syrian Druze, categorically rejected the constitution decree announced by the government, which led to much incitement against the minority, including from figures and outlets close to the government.
Considering the recent events on the coast and tensions with Druze, it is safe to assume that the Syrian government has so far failed to build any meaningful relationship with the country’s minorities. While there is still time to move in direction, the government is yet to demonstrate that it is willing to move away from its hardened Islamist roots.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
