DAMASCUS: Syria said Israel launched new strikes near Damascus, after sectarian clashes left nearly 40 dead in two days and Israel warned against attacks targeting the Druze minority.
The sectarian violence and Israel’s intervention present huge challenges to the Islamist authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, and follow massacres last month in Syria’s Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast.
United Nations special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen condemned the violence as “unacceptable” and expressed alarm at “the potential for further escalation of an extremely fragile situation”.
State news agency SANA reported “Israeli occupation strikes on the vicinity” of Sahnaya, southwest of the capital.
Deadly sectarian clashes erupted overnight in Sahnaya, which is home to many Druze and Christians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six Druze fighters were killed in the clashes while the interior ministry reported 16 General Security personnel killed after “outlaw groups” attacked government positions and checkpoints.
The governor of the Damascus countryside, Amer al-Sheikh, later said one member of the security forces and a resident of Sahnaya were killed in the Israeli strike.
He added that most members of the “outlawed groups” were arrested and that security had been restored in Sahnaya.
The previous night, eight Druze fighters and nine gunmen linked to the authorities were killed in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian suburb southeast of the capital, the Observatory said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had carried out a “warning action”, striking “an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population” in Sahnaya.
“A stern message was conveyed to the Syrian regime — Israel expects them to act to prevent harm to the Druze community,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
Israel had previously warned Syria’s Islamist rulers against harming the Druze, who are also present in Lebanon and Israel.
The Israeli military said Wednesday it had ordered troops to “prepare to strike” Syrian government targets “should the violence against Druze communities continue”.
