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Damascus strikes deal with Druze leaders after deadly sectarian clashes

Syria’s Islamist-led government promised Druze leaders Tuesday that it would try those responsible after its security forces clashed with Druze fighters in a Damascus suburb, leaving 14 combatants dead.In a deal reached with representatives from the mainly Druze and Christian suburb of Jaramana, authorities also promised measures to “put an end to incitement to sectarian and regional division”, according to a text seen by AFP.”An agreement has been reached,” said Rabih Mounzer, a member of a civilian coordination group in Jaramana who was among the delegates.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven security personnel and seven Druze fighters were killed in the clashes which erupted on Monday night and continued into Tuesday.They were sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous and met with condemnation from leaders of the Druze religious minority.The violence follows sectarian massacres last month in the Alawite coastal heartland — the worst bloodshed since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime president Bashar al-Assad in December.While seeking to present a more moderate image to the world, the new authorities must also contend with pressures from radical Islamists within their ranks.”Heavy clashes erupted in Jaramana after security forces and affiliated gunmen stormed” parts of the suburb, the Britain-based Observatory said.The violence was spurred by “the circulation of an audio recording, attributed to a Druze citizen, containing religious insults”, it added.AFP was unable to confirm the recording’s authenticity.The interior ministry reported “intermittent clashes between groups of gunmen”, saying security forces deployed “to break up the clashes and protect the residents”.The justice ministry said it would “not tolerate any attack on the Prophet” Mohammed but stressed that the courts were the “sole legitimate recourse” and called on residents to “refrain from hate speech”.- ‘Full responsibility’ -An AFP correspondent saw gunmen shooting into the air during the funeral for two security force members killed in the clashes.Jaramana’s Druze religious leadership condemned “the unjustified armed attack” that “targeted innocent civilians and terrorised” residents.”We strongly condemn any insult against” the Prophet Mohammed, the statement said, calling the audio recording an attempt to “sow strife and division”.It said the authorities bore “full responsibility for the incident”.Local residents said the fighting had subsided by morning.Riham Waqqaf, a 33-year-old humanitarian worker, said she was staying home with her husband and children.She expressed worry that Jaramana “might turn into a battlefield… I am afraid of the situation escalating further”.- Alawite massacres -Security forces deployed in Jaramana last month following clashes between security forces and gunmen tasked with protecting the area.At the time, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned the Islamist-led authorities not “to harm the Druze” minority, which is also spread across Lebanon and Israel.Druze leaders rejected the Israeli warning and declared their loyalty to a united Syria.The clashes in Jaramana mark the latest test for the Islamist authorities, who have roots in the Al-Qaeda jihadist network but have vowed inclusive rule in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country.The authorities have been seeking to persuade Western capitals that the jihadist origins of the forces who toppled Assad are confined to the past, and that crippling international sanctions should be lifted.Druze representatives have been negotiating with authorities on an agreement to integrate their armed groups into the new national army.Last month’s violence on the Mediterranean coast saw security forces and allied groups kill more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, according to the Observatory’s figures. The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that toppled Assad, accused loyalists to the former leader of sparking the violence by attacking security forces, and has launched an inquiry.burs-lar/nad/kir/ysm

Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘live-streamed genocide’ in Gaza

Amnesty International accused Israel on Tuesday of committing a “live-streamed genocide” against Palestinians by forcibly displacing Gazans and creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged territory, claims Israel dismissed as “blatant lies”.Echoing global concern after more than 18 months of war, the United Nations’ rights chief Volker Turk meanwhile called on the international community to launch “concerted efforts” to end Israel’s total aid blockade on the Gaza Strip, in effect since early March.Rights group Amnesty, in its annual report, said Israel was acting with “specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, thus committing genocide”.The war erupted after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 52,365 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.”Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas perpetrated horrific crimes against Israeli citizens and others and captured more than 250 hostages, the world has been made audience to a live-streamed genocide,” Amnesty’s secretary-general Agnes Callamard said.”States watched on as if powerless, as Israel killed thousands upon thousands of Palestinians, wiping out entire multigenerational families, destroying homes, livelihoods, hospitals and schools.”Israel rejected the accusations, accusing Amnesty of spreading Hamas propaganda and insisting that the military did not target civilians.- ‘Extreme’ suffering -On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least seven people, four of whom in a tent encampment for displaced Palestinians in the territory’s south.”I just want to lay my head on a pillow and sleep. We don’t want to be collecting remains” of the dead, said Widad Fojo, who lost relatives in an Israeli strike.Amnesty said it had “documented multiple war crimes by Israel” including attacks on civilians, and that Israel had “deliberately engineered an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.The London-based rights group said 1.9 million people — about 90 percent of Gaza’s population — had been forcibly displaced during the war. The UN has cited similar figures.Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein rejected the accusations, saying that “the radical anti-Israel organisation Amnesty has once again chosen to publish baseless lies against Israel.””Israel is targeting only terrorists and never civilians,” he told AFP.Marmorstein charged that Hamas “deliberately targets Israeli civilians and hides behind Palestinian civilians”.Top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly said the military campaign in Gaza was aimed at securing the release of 58 hostages.Late on Tuesday, in a statement marking the annual Memorial Day to honour the country’s fallen soldiers, Netanyahu vowed to bring the hostages home.”We will continue to pursue the mission of victory — including the return of all our hostages”, Netanyahu said, while army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir too pledged to “defeat” Hamas.Amnesty said the war represented a collective failure by the international community.Heba Morayef, Amnesty’s regional director, said Palestinians had endured “extreme levels of suffering” while the world showed a “complete inability or lack of political will to put a stop to it”.- Children starving -Turk, the UN rights chief, said the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza must be stopped.”There must be concerted international efforts to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level,” he said in a statement.”Israel appears to be inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza”.The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said children and the sick were the most vulnerable.”Children in Gaza are going to bed starving. The ill and the sick are not able to get medical care because of shortages in supplies,” said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma.”Gaza has become a land of desperation… The siege on Gaza is a silent killer,” she said.The UN agency also said that more than 50 of its staff, including teachers and doctors, had been abused by Israeli forces in detention during the course of the war.”They reported being beaten + used as human shields,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.Israel has accused some UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack and has banned it from operating within its territory.