Syria: Muslim mobs screaming ‘Allahu akbar’ destroy two small Christian shrines
The destroyed shrines themselves will bear witness to the majesty of Allah. Many Muslims believe that the ruins and destruction of non-Muslim structures testifies to the truth of Islam, as the Qur’an suggests that the destroyed remnants of ancient non-Muslim civilizations are a sign of Allah’s punishment of those who rejected his truth: “7Similar ways have passed away before you. Just travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences for those who denied.” (3:137)
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Clashes between Syrian forces and Druze gunmen turn deadly
One person was killed and nine others wounded in clashes near Damascus between forces affiliated to Syria's new rulers and gunmen from the minority Druze community on Saturday, according to a Syrian human rights monitor.
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Clashes between forces affiliated with Syria's new rulers and local gunmen from the minority Druze community killed one person and wounded nine near Damascus on Saturday, a monitor said.
Since Islamist-led rebels in December overthrew longtime repressive ruler Bashar al-Assad, clashes and shootings have occurred in several areas, with security officials accusing armed supporters of the previous government.
Saturday's incident occurred in Jaramana, a densely populated suburb near Damascus that is home to a majority of Druze and Christian minority residents.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "one person was killed and nine others from Jaramana were injured during clashes between security forces affiliated with the new authority and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area."
It could not specify whether the killed person was a civilian or a local fighter.
Tensions began on Friday when a dispute led to the killing of one security forces member and the wounding of another in a shooting at a checkpoint in Jaramana, according to the Observatory.
Security challenge
Syria's official news agency, SANA, quoted Colonel Hossam al-Tahhan, the local head of security, as saying the checkpoint had stopped Ministry of Defence personnel as they entered the area to visit their relatives.
After surrendering their weapons they were assaulted and "their vehicle was directly targeted by gunfire," resulting in the casualties, Tahhan said.
He warned such incidents could have repercussions on "Syria's security, stability, and unity."
Jaramana's Druze said in a statement that they would "withdraw protection from all offenders and outlaws" and pledged to hand over anyone proven responsible to "the relevant authorities to face justice."
Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the most pressing challenges for interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, following about 13 years of civil war.
The Druze, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, make up about three percent of Syria's population.
They largely stayed on the sidelines of the civil war.
Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Islamist group led the offensive against Assad. The group has its roots in Syria's former al Qaeda affiliate, and is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many governments including the United States.
HTS has moderated its rhetoric and vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.
Israel's military ordered to prepare to defend Druze settlement
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday warned Syria's new rulers not "to harm the Druze", adding the military has been ordered "to prepare and to send a firm and clear warning: if the regime harms the Druze, it will suffer the consequences."
An Israeli defence ministry statement said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.
The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighbouring Syria’s new government should not enter the area south of Damascus.
Saturday’s statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt. Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syria's new forces.
“We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us,” the statement said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
between Turkey, Kurds
President Donald Trump gestures to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on November 13, 2019, and Erdogan might benefit politically from a cease-fire with Kurdish forces in Turkey that was announced Saturday. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License PhotoMarch 1 (UPI) -- The militia wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party announced a cease-fire with immediate effect Saturday to halt decades of conflict between Turkey and the Kurds.
The cease-fire announcement comes two days after the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which uses the acronym PKK, asked the militia to cease hostilities and dissolve the organization, CNN, the BBC and NPR reported.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for the cease-fire while still imprisoned in Turkey.
"I am making a call for the laying down of arms and I take on the historical responsibility of this call," Ocalan said Thursday in a written statement. "All groups must lay [down] their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself."
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The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has raged for more than 40 years and claimed an estimated 40,000 lives. The conflict also has affected several other nations, including Iraq.
"We agree with the content of leader Ocalan's call as it is and we state that we will comply with and implement the requirements of the call from our own side," PKK Executive Committee members announced in a prepared statement. "We declare a cease-fire effective as of today."
For the cease-fire to work, the PKK Executive Committee said, "Democratic politics and legal grounds must also be appropriate."
Ocalan formed the PKK in 1978 and went to war with Turkey soon after while trying to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey.
Kurds comprise up to 20% of Turkey's population and account for significant portions of the populations in Syria, Iran and northern Iraq.
Turkish authorities arrested Ocalan in Kenya in 1999, sentenced him to life in prison for treason and only allowed him to have limited contact with others outside of the prison.
Hostilities ramped up quickly in August 1984 when PKK militants killed two Turkish soldiers and mostly have continued since.
A cease-fire was implemented in 2013 but ended two years later at peace talks failed amid rising tensions between the PKK and Turkey.
Ocalan on Thursday said relations between the Kurds and Turkey were broken during the prior 200 years but welcomed an opportunity to end the conflict.
"Today, the main task is to restructure the historical relationship," Ocalan said.
Peace prospects between Turkey and the PKK appeared grim until recent months, but at least three Turkish delegations have visited Ocalan over the past three months.
Turkish lawmaker Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to appear before the Turkish Parliament and announce he has ceased hostilities with the Turkish government.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to run for a third term in 2028, which would require approval from Turkey's Grand National Assembly.
Turkish law places a term limit of two five-year terms for the nation's presidency.
For Erdogan to be approved to seek a third term, he needs the support of the Grand National Assembly in which the Kurds have significant representation.
Recent violence between the PKK and Turkish forces could complicate the current cease-fire.
Turkish forces have ramped up efforts to eliminate Kurdish forces and in February suggested new leadership in Syria wipe out the Syrian Democratic Forces that are led by Kurds.
The PKK in October claimed responsibility for an attack that killed five at the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries in Ankara.
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