In a major development, Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes in the centre of Syria’s capital, Damascus, on Wednesday, 16th July. The attack damaged a building linked to Syria’s defence ministry and also hit areas close to the president’s residence. Israel said the strikes were meant to protect the Druze minority from attacks by Syrian forces and Bedouin groups in the southern region of Sweida, where violent clashes had been ongoing for days. The strikes came after clashes that began between Druze and Bedouin groups in Sweida, with Syrian government forces intervening to restore order but then clashing with Druze militias themselves.

The Druze are a small religious group found mainly in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Their religion started over 1,000 years ago and came from Islam, but they practice it very differently. They don’t follow Islam’s main rules like praying five times a day, and they don’t let new people join their religion. Because of this, most Islamic teachers don’t consider them to be Muslims.

The Druze speak Arabic and are both an ethnic group and a religious community. There are about one million Druze people around the world. About half of them live in Syria, where they make up around 3% of the country’s population. In Israel, many Druze are loyal to the country and serve in the army, and they are generally seen as supporting Israel.

The Bedouins are traditionally nomadic Arab tribes who are predominantly Sunni Muslim. In southern Syria, local Bedouin tribes have settled in areas around Sweida province. The recent violence began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between these Bedouin tribes and Druze armed groups.

Sweida, a southern region in Syria, does not directly border Israel but is located near the strategic Golan Heights and shares a border with Jordan. Since Jordan borders Israel, any military activity or movement of Syrian forces in Sweida can still concern Israel due to the region’s close proximity and the risk of hostile forces moving closer to Israeli territory.

Israeli fighter jets carried out multiple airstrikes on Damascus, Syria’s capital city. The main target was a large military building that houses Syria’s defense ministry and army headquarters. Israeli officials said this building was being used by Syrian military leaders to plan and control attacks against the Druze people in Sweida. The strikes hit the heart of Damascus, targeting the government’s main military command center where important defense decisions are made.

Syria’s health ministry reported that at least one person was killed and 18 others were hurt in the attacks. A monitoring group said the strikes caused major damage to the government area of Damascus. People who saw the attacks described confusion and fear as missiles hit the city. A 30-year-old worker at the defense ministry told reporters: “We were inside the building when the first bomb hit. Then another one came. Later, the planes returned and dropped four more bombs one after another. Some people are still stuck under the collapsed building pieces.”

Israel also said it was carrying out many more attacks in Sweida city, hitting Syrian soldiers and military buildings there.

Sweida is the main area where Syria’s Druze people live. The trouble started on Sunday when people from a Bedouin tribe attacked a Druze man. On Monday, 14th July, the Syrian government sent soldiers to stop the fighting. But some people said the government was helping the Bedouin attackers instead of being fair.

Israel has promised to protect Druze people wherever they live. This week, Israel told Syria to pull its soldiers out of Sweida. When Syria didn’t listen, Israel began bombing on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on TV: “We are trying to save our Druze brothers and stop the government gangs.” He also told Israeli Druze citizens: “You are Israelis. Don’t cross the border into Syria. You could get hurt.”

Many Israeli Druze people had rushed to the border to show support for Syrian Druze before Netanyahu asked them to stay back.

The attacks come at a difficult time for Syria’s new government. The country has a new president, Ahmed al-Shara, who took power in December after removing the old ruler Bashar al-Assad. Assad was a friend of Iran and an enemy of Israel. Al-Shara came to power with help from rebel groups. These groups have reportedly started secret talks with Israel, with the United States helping to arrange these discussions.

However, many people in Syria still don’t fully trust the new government, especially religious minority groups like the Druze. Even though the new government says it will protect everyone, some Druze fighters believe the government is actually working against them instead of keeping them safe. This lack of trust is making the situation in Syria very unstable.

The fighting in Sweida is some of the worst violence seen there in a long time. Hospitals are running out of medicine and supplies, electricity and internet have been cut off in many areas, and many ordinary people are stuck and cannot escape.

On Wednesday, 16th July night, a new peace agreement was announced. Syria’s interior ministry said local leaders helped arrange the deal. The agreement includes stopping all fighting immediately, removing government soldiers from the area, and letting the Syrian government take control of the province peacefully. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said America helped create this peace deal: “We have agreed on specific steps that will end this terrible and frightening situation tonight.”

Yes, the fighting in Sweida is the third big outbreak of violence between different religious groups since Assad was removed from power. In March, people who still supported the old government attacked new government soldiers near the coast. This led to religious fighting that killed more than 1,600 people, mostly from the Alawite community. In May, 39 people died in two days of violence near Damascus. Most of those killed were from the Druze community.

These repeated clashes show that Syria is still struggling with tensions between different religious and ethnic groups under its new government.

——-E.O.M

(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. Contact: girishlinganna@gmail.com)