Israel strikes Syrian army tanks in south amid clashes with local Druze militia

Israelrsquos military on Monday said that it had targeted tanks in southern Syria amid violent clashes between Syrian government forces Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in the regionDozens have been killed in the escalating conflict across Sweida province where fighting broke out between local militias and tribal groups reported AP Government security forces dispatched to the area on Monday to restore order were themselves engaged in clashes with local armed factionsSyriarsquos Interior Ministry stated that more than 30 people had been killed and nearly 100 wounded The UKbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a higher toll citing at least 64 dead mdash including two children a woman and six government security personnelAccording to the observatory the violence began with confrontations between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin clans with some government forces ldquoactively participatingrdquo on the side of the BedouinsInterior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine alBaba told staterun AlIkhbariya TV ldquoSome clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualtiesrdquoThe Observatory said the violence was sparked by a string of kidnappings between the two groups The first incident reportedly occurred when members of a Bedouin tribe erected a checkpoint and robbed a young Druze man reported AP The grouprsquos director Rami Abdurrahman said the conflict escalated after the robbery and abduction of a Druze vegetable seller triggering retaliatory attacks and further abductionsIn response Syriarsquos defence and interior ministries began deploying additional forces in an attempt to contain the crisisThe Interior Ministry labelled the situation a ldquodangerous escalationrdquo that ldquocomes in the absence of the relevant official institutions which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos the deterioration of the security situation and the inability of the local community to contain the situation despite repeated calls for calmrdquoDruze seen as a loyal minorityIsrael has previously intervened in Syria in defence of the Druze religious minority In May Israeli forces carried out an airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus widely interpreted as a warning to interim Syrian President Ahmad alSharaaThat strike followed deadly clashes earlier this year between progovernment fighters and Druze militias in the town of Sahnaya and the Druzemajority Damascus suburb of JaramanaAt the time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement declaring that Israel ldquowill not allow the deployment of Syrian government forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze communityrdquoRoughly half of the worldrsquos 1 million Druze live in Syria with most of the remainder in Lebanon and Israel mdash including in the Golan Heights which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed in 1981In Israel the Druze community is often regarded as a loyal minority and many Druze serve in the militarySince the fall of former President Bashar alAssad in December during a Sunni Islamistled rebel offensive segments of the Druze population have grown wary of the new authorities in Damascus On multiple occasions Druze militias have clashed with government or affiliated forcesLike unwrapping an onionThe Druze are a small religious sect that emerged in the 10th century as an offshoot of Ismailism a branch of Shia Islam In Syria they are concentrated largely in the southern Sweida province as well as in Damascus suburbs such as Jaramana and Ashrafiyat SahnayaDuring Syriarsquos nearly 14year civil war the Druze formed their own militias to defend their communities often coming under attack from Islamic State fighters and other Islamist groupsIsrael has maintained a hardline stance towards Syriarsquos new leadership citing concerns about Islamist militias operating near its borders Israeli forces have previously seized parts of the UNpatrolled buffer zone on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and have launched hundreds of airstrikes against military targets inside SyriaThe Trump administration had encouraged the new Syrian government to begin normalising relations with Israel Syrian officials have confirmed indirect talks with Israel aimed at easing tensions though they have not responded to claims that direct talks have also taken placeUS envoy to Syria Tom Barrack told The Associated Press last week he believes normalisation will occur ldquolike unwrapping an onion slowlyrdquoWith AP inputs