Free Republic

Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition. The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce — mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday — halted most of the fighting. However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of...

Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has established a new “red line” in Syria, launching major airstrikes on Damascus on July 16 to warn the new government against attacking the Druze minority in the south. The strikes, which targeted military headquarters, came after clashes erupted between Druze and other armed groups near Suwayda.

Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda, prompting Syrian forces to intervene. That, in turn, triggered renewed Israeli airstrikes, as Israel – citing a commitment to protect the Druze – expands its footprint in southern Syria. .. Syria’s military entered Suwayda, a stronghold for the Druze community in the country’s south, on Tuesday after clashes broke out...

"Israel announced on Wednesday that its forces struck near the entrance of the Syrian Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Damascus."The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime's actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria. In accordance with directives from the political echelon, the IDF is striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on X."

Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority as deadly clashes continued in the region at the Israeli frontier. A Reuters reporter said they heard drones and at least four strikes over the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, and saw a damaged tank being towed away. Bursts of gunfire were heard and three bodies were seen on the ground. Dozens of people have been killed in fighting in the region since Sunday. The surge in violence underlines the challenges...

BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Israel’s army said Monday it has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clashed with Druze militias. Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria ’s Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order Monday also clashed with local armed groups. Syria's Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people have died and nearly 100 others have been injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported at least 89 dead, including two children, two women...

The horrors of Islamic war rage in Syria. A young Alawite girl, Mira, was kidnapped and married to an Afghan jihadi fighter. Her father was threatened with death if he did not keep quiet and the government forces protected the Afghan man who raped the Alawite girl. The government forces also fabricated a false story to justify this marriage and that the girl had run away with this Afghan man. ... The young woman Mira Jalal Thabat (20 years old), the only child of her parents from the village of Al-Makhtabiyah in Talkalakh, went missing inside the Teacher Training Institute...

The al Qaeda terror leader of Syria – Al Sharaa who is perpetrating the wholesale slaughter of Christians, Alawites, Druze as we speak is hosted by French president Macron in Paris This the same Macron who has pledged to arrest Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu if he came to France. Didn’t they vote this craven scumbag out? ... The Syrian dictator, an ISIS murderer, who just recently set his Sunni dogs to butcher Alawites and Druze, has landed in Paris to meet Macron. If Bibi were going down those stairs he would be arrested for being a Jewish leader who fights...

Prime Minister and Defense Minister announce Israel has struck a target close to the presidential palace in Damascus: "We will not permit any threat to the Druze community." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced early Friday morning that Israel had struck a target close to the presidential palace in Damascus. "This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not permit Syrian troops to move south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community," they said in a joint statement...

Moments ago the U.S. Treasury Department announced official sanctions against Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (El Aissami). El Aissami is the Executive Vice President of Venezuela. WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Venezuelan national Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (El Aissami) as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) for playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking. El Aissami is the Executive Vice President of Venezuela.

Jihadists are murdering, raping, torturing, kidnapping, enslaving, and, in some instances, burning people alive — across Africa, and now in Syria. Local jihadist organizations go by different names, but the ideology that drives them is the same: Every one of them deeply believes that Allah wants him to wipe the world clean of the kuffar (infidels). More than 16.2 million Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa have been driven from their homes by jihadi violence and conflict, reports the human rights organization Open Doors. Women and girls are abducted, forced into "marriage," forced to convert to Islam, raped, and subjected to forced...

For 14 years, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war. Until three months ago, dictator Bashar al-Assad controlled the government, but he was overthrown by the Jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist organization. While Assad had many faults he did protect the Christian minority in Syria. However, as noted by commentator Tucker Carlson, as the civil war progressed, “the percentage of Christians in Syria went from ten percent to two percent.”

The ground is shifting in real time. Israel is partnering with other persecuted minorities in the region to defeat the jihad armies. The Druze, with the support of Israel, now fully control the southern Syrian region of Sweida, the first overwhelmingly non-Muslim state in the Middle East since Israel. A new country is emerging in the Middle East. The Druze, with the support of Israel, now fully control the southern Syrian region of Sweida. ... Sweida has almost half a million people. Over 85% are Druze and nearly 10% are Christian. It’s BY FAR the safest area for Christians in...

Six Druze villages, in the portion of the Golan Heights occupied by what was formerly Syria, have reportedly decided to request that Israel annex their village. Many have family and friends in the many existing and very successful Druze communities in Israel, where they enjoy the benefits of citizenship, including civil rights, freedom of speech and religion and equal protection under the law. Is it any wonder that they would like to join them and become a part of Israel? If Israel accepts this proposal, then the US and other nations should approach the matter with moral clarity and rightly...

Syrian Kurdish commanders seek Israel's help amid territorial losses to Turkish-backed Islamist forces. The assessment is that intervention would escalate tensions with Turkey. ===================================================================== The Israeli defense establishment is weighing requests for assistance from Syria's Kurdish minority, who are under attack from Turkish-backed Islamist groups. The appeals for help have reached Israeli officials in recent days following the advancement of these groups and their successful capture of Kurdish-held territories. Israel and the Kurdish forces have maintained an ongoing dialogue, which has strengthened significantly following the fall of the Assad regime. The Israeli dilemma stems partly from the potential impact such...

Chaos in Lebanon between Hezbollah "refugees" and Christian families.Hezbollah terrorists are trying to steal Christian properties, causing mass fighting. They think they're above the law.pic.twitter.com/AhQPdHlTnr— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) October 24, 2024

A loud blast was heard, and a plume of smoke could be seen rising late on Tuesday above the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, a stronghold of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, a Reuters witness said. The city has been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in retaliation for a strike on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights that killed a dozen Druze children and teenagers. Israel and the United States have blamed Hezbollah for the attack. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.

As bad as you think the media is, it always manages to be worse.. The media routinely plays up civilian casualties in any Israeli air strike. But as the headlines show the game is played very differently when Islamic terrorist attacks kill children. After the Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah struck a soccer field in the Israeli Golan Heights killing a dozen Druze children (Druze are a non-Jewish minority group in Israel whose members often serve in the Israeli military), the media did its best to write the most ambiguous headlines possible. Rocket From Lebanon Kills at Least 12 in Israeli-Controlled...

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi rushed to the scene of Saturday evening’s Hezbollah attack on the Druze Arab town of Majdal Shams to comfort the community and assure them that Israel would respond powerfully. The IDF issued a statement: The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, arrived last night (Saturday) at the soccer field in Majdal Shams and met with the Head of the Druze community, Shaykh Mowafaq Tarif and representatives of the local authority, the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin and the the Commanding Officer of the...

In a statement shared with Newsweek by the IDF, spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called it "the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since October 7th," when a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, according to Israeli officials. Following what the IDF called a "situational assessment and the intelligence in our possession," the Israeli military stated that "the rocket launch toward Majdal Shams was carried out by the Hezbollah terrorist organization." The group, however, denied any role in the attack. "The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon categorically denies allegations made by some 'Israeli' media outlets...