DAMASCUS: A Syria war monitor on Tuesday said at least nine people were killed in clashes between Druze fighters and security forces loyal to the Islamist government who stormed a Damascus suburb.
The incident, sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous, was met with immediate condemnation from leaders of the Druze religious minority.
The violence follows sectarian massacres last month in the Alawite coastal heartland that were 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, they must also contend with pressures from radical Islamists within their ranks. "Heavy clashes erupted in Jaramana after security forces and affiliated gunmen stormed" areas of the mostly Druze and Christian suburb of Jaramana, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
It added that the clashes erupted after "the circulation of an audio recording, attributed to a Druze citizen, containing religious insults". The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said six Druze fighters from Jaramana and three "assailants" were killed.
An interior ministry statement said authorities were closely following "the circulation on social media of an audio recording containing grave insults" against the Prophet Mohammed. "Work is ongoing to identify" the individual behind the audio recording "in order to bring them to justice", the statement added.
It emphasised "the importance of adhering to public order and not being drawn into any behaviour... that would disrupt public security or threaten people or property".
'Full responsibility':
Jaramana's Druze religious leadership in a statement 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 "fabricated" audio recording an attempt to "sow strife and division".
It said that the Syrian authorities bore "full responsibility for the incident and for any further developments or worsening of the crisis". A Jaramana resident, requesting anonymity due to safety concerns, said the overnight clashes were followed by gunfire and shelling.
"We were trapped in our homes as the sound of intermittent gunfire continued. The children have not gone to school and the streets of our neighbourhood are empty this morning," the resident added. 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". Fighter Jamal, declining to provide his full name, said local armed groups had asked Jaramana residents to stay home "for their safety".
"Jaramana has not witnessed a day like this in many years," he added. Tensions began in Jaramana in late February with a fatal shooting at a checkpoint, followed a day later by clashes between security forces and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area, the Observatory had said. Security forces last month deployed in the area, also home to families displaced by Syria's civil conflict which erupted in 2011.
Coastal violence:
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz at that time warned the new 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 group but have vowed inclusive rule in Syria, home to a wide array of religious and ethnic minorities.
The authorities have been seeking to persuade Western capitals that the jihadist origins of the rebels who toppled Assad are confined to the past, and that crippling international sanctions should be lifted.
Some countries including the United States have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power and ensure human rights.
Druze representatives have been negotiating with Syria's new authorities on an agreement that would see their armed groups integrated into the new national army.
Last month's coastal violence saw security forces and allied groups kill more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, the Observatory had said.
The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that toppled Assad, accused Assad loyalists of sparking the violence by attacking security forces, and has launched an inquiry.
The incident, sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous, was met with immediate condemnation from leaders of the Druze religious minority.
The violence follows sectarian massacres last month in the Alawite coastal heartland that were 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, they must also contend with pressures from radical Islamists within their ranks. "Heavy clashes erupted in Jaramana after security forces and affiliated gunmen stormed" areas of the mostly Druze and Christian suburb of Jaramana, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
It added that the clashes erupted after "the circulation of an audio recording, attributed to a Druze citizen, containing religious insults". The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said six Druze fighters from Jaramana and three "assailants" were killed.
An interior ministry statement said authorities were closely following "the circulation on social media of an audio recording containing grave insults" against the Prophet Mohammed. "Work is ongoing to identify" the individual behind the audio recording "in order to bring them to justice", the statement added.
It emphasised "the importance of adhering to public order and not being drawn into any behaviour... that would disrupt public security or threaten people or property".
'Full responsibility':
Jaramana's Druze religious leadership in a statement 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 "fabricated" audio recording an attempt to "sow strife and division".
It said that the Syrian authorities bore "full responsibility for the incident and for any further developments or worsening of the crisis". A Jaramana resident, requesting anonymity due to safety concerns, said the overnight clashes were followed by gunfire and shelling.
"We were trapped in our homes as the sound of intermittent gunfire continued. The children have not gone to school and the streets of our neighbourhood are empty this morning," the resident added. 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". Fighter Jamal, declining to provide his full name, said local armed groups had asked Jaramana residents to stay home "for their safety".
"Jaramana has not witnessed a day like this in many years," he added. Tensions began in Jaramana in late February with a fatal shooting at a checkpoint, followed a day later by clashes between security forces and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area, the Observatory had said. Security forces last month deployed in the area, also home to families displaced by Syria's civil conflict which erupted in 2011.
Coastal violence:
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz at that time warned the new 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 group but have vowed inclusive rule in Syria, home to a wide array of religious and ethnic minorities.
The authorities have been seeking to persuade Western capitals that the jihadist origins of the rebels who toppled Assad are confined to the past, and that crippling international sanctions should be lifted.
Some countries including the United States have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power and ensure human rights.
Druze representatives have been negotiating with Syria's new authorities on an agreement that would see their armed groups integrated into the new national army.
Last month's coastal violence saw security forces and allied groups kill more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, the Observatory had said.
The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that toppled Assad, accused Assad loyalists of sparking the violence by attacking security forces, and has launched an inquiry.
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