In the midst of tensions following Israeli requests to protect the minority population, Syria’s new authorities stated Sunday that their soldiers had deployed in a suburb of Damascus after deadly battles with Druze gunmen.
According to a war monitor, a deadly shot occurred at a checkpoint on Friday in Jaramana, a predominantly Druze and Christian suburb of the city. A day later, confrontations broke out between security troops and local gunmen tasked with protecting the region.
In a statement posted on official news agency SANA on Sunday, local security commander Hossam Tahhan said that “our forces have begun deploying” in Jaramana in order to put an end to the “chaos and illegal checkpoints by outlaw groups.”
He vowed to arrest those involved in Friday’s killing of a defence ministry employee at a checkpoint, saying the culprits had “refused” to hand themselves in.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said another person was killed in clashes on Saturday and nine more wounded.
Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the most pressing challenges for the new authorities after Bashar al-Assad’s December overthrow.
Adding to tensions, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday issued a warning to the new Islamist-led authorities not “to harm the Druze”, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Jaramana resident Salah Abdulrazak al-Amed, 56, called the Israeli remarks “inflammatory and rash statements” that aimed to “polarise sections of the people”.
Issa Abdulhaq, 53, said that “Israel can declare whatever it wants… They are just talking to themselves.”
The Druze, who comprise roughly 3% of Syria’s population, mostly remained neutral during the conflict.
According to Tahhan, residents of Jaramana provided “great cooperation” in helping the new authorities take control of the suburb.
In a statement, Druze officials in Jaramana promised to “withdraw protection from all offenders and outlaws” and to turn over anyone found to be accountable for the most recent violence “to face justice.”
On the day of Assad’s downfall, Jaramana was among the first places where locals demolished a statue of his father, former President Hafez al-Assad.
