Israel launched airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday, threatening to attack government forces if clashes persist between government fighters and militias from ethnic minorities.
Israeli forces walked to the latest eruption of sectarian violence in the country, saying the aircraft had attacked a group of “operatives” who were accused of “attacking interfering civilians” as they spread the violence around the capital Damascus. Amr al-Sheikh, the Syrian governor of the region, said at a press conference on Wednesday night that the airstrikes killed one member of the Syrian government’s general security forces and a civilian.
Although Israeli forces did not identify “operatives,” the forces alongside the Islamist government have been trapped in violent regional clashes with Druse Militiamen for two days. Previously, the Israeli government said its forces targeted members of an unidentified “extremist group” in southern Damascus.
Israel has a considerable hay community, many of whom consider themselves loyal citizens and serve in the military.
At least 39 people included 22 on Wednesday – were killed in a two-day clash of Syrian humans on the outskirts of Damascus, according to the Syrian Human Rights Station, a British-based war watchdog group.
The Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday came after violent clashes broke out around the town of Asurafie Sanaya, a largely interfering area south of Damascus.
The attacks on the area around Damascus, which has a massive hay population, began Monday through Tuesday after audio clips were circulated on social media claiming to be interfering clerics who scorn the Prophet Muhammad. The clergy denied the charges and said Syrian Interior Ministry had said that the initial findings showed that he was not a person in Clip.
The violence has deprived fear among diverse ethnic and religious minorities in Syria who are increasingly concerned about persecution under the control of Syrian new Muslim leaders who overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
The latest wave of sectarian violence began primarily in the drying jaramana city. By the end of Tuesday, 17 people had died.
The unrest spread to Asurafie Sanaya on Wednesday, when military fighters fought “troops belonging to the Ministry of Defense and Interior and other mandators” of the government, according to the war watch group.
The area’s governor, Al Sheikh, said at a press conference that members of the “Outlaw Group” had staffed by Jalamana’s government security forces on Tuesday and attacked a staffed checkpoint in Ashrafie Sanaya on Wednesday, urging the government to protect both cities.
He said 14 was killed in total on both sides on Monday. The clashes then erupted twice in Asurafie Sanaya on Wednesday between government forces and outlaws, he said.
Al Sheikh did not identify the “outlaw group.” However, in a clear reference to Druse Militias, which appears to be linked to Wednesday’s clash, he repeated three times, “A weapon should be in the hands of the state.”
Syrian new leaders are struggling to integrate the complex web of armed groups operating across the country into new state equipment. Some of the strongest hay militias are discussing with the government about their conditions for integration into the military.
Abu Hassan, Abu Hassan, commander of the interfering militia in Sweida, southern Syria, and passed through the honorable Gerer to paint a more ominous picture of the government forces in which Al Sheikh was involved, saying foreign fighters and other extremist militants belonged to the nominal government. Abu Hassan also suggested that the audio clip was a false pretext for violence, saying this was really about solving the old score in the aftermath of Syria’s nearly 14 years of civil war.
Sana, a state communications agency, said the armed gunmen (an obvious reference to hay fighters) attacked the checkpoint and the vehicle overnight on Wednesday, a member of the government forces of Asurafie Sanaya.
According to Sana, an interior ministry official called gunmen who attacked government forces on “criminals” and the government vowed to fight back “with iron fist.”
Israel was first said on Wednesday that airstrikes were described as warnings against “extremist groups,” according to a joint statement by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Minister of Defense.
Israel offered to protect Syrian interference if they were attacked amid the country’s turbulent transition of power. Many Syrian hay rejected the offer, but they blame what they consider to be potentially destructive foreign interference.
Syria is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, while hay is a religious group that practices a secret religion rooted in Islam.
The rebels that expelled Al Assad were led by Sunni Muslim groups once linked to al-Qaeda. They now run the government and the National Army.
Since banishment of Al Assad, Israel has made numerous invasions in Syria, raiding villages, firing hundreds of airstrikes, and destroying military pre-post bases. Israel says it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of hostile groups, and does not want enemy forces to settle themselves near the border.
Denominational violence has hit Syria several times since the ouster of Al-Assad, and among many minority groups, yelling fears that the country’s new leaders will alienate or target them.
Last month, a wave of sectic killing spread across the coastal region of Syria, home to the country’s Alawis, the minority group that the Assad family belongs to.
