Renewed sectarian clashes in south Syria kill four

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — Renewed sectarian clashes in southern Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province killed at least four people on Sunday, a war monitor said, as Damascus accused local groups of violating last month’s ceasefire.

The province witnessed deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July that drew the intervention of government forces and tribal fighters who came to support the Bedouins.

A ceasefire put an end to the week of bloodshed — which killed 1,400 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — but the situation remained tense, flaring into violence again on Sunday.

The Observatory said three Syrian security forces personnel were killed “as clashes erupted with local factions around Tal Hadid in the western Sweida countryside.”

The Observatory also reported the death of a “local fighter.”

Tal Hadid, controlled by government security forces, is a “key control point” at a relatively high altitude, according to the monitor, allowing whoever holds it to overlook neighboring areas.

Fighting also erupted around the city of Thaala, the Observatory said, “following bombardment of the area with shells and heavy weapons launched from areas under the control of government forces, while the sound of explosions and gunfire was heard in various parts of Sweida city.”

Syrian state-run news agency SANA accused Druze groups loyal to influential spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri of breaching the ceasefire by attacking government troops in Tal Hadid, killing one security forces officer and injuring others.

In a statement, the Syrian interior ministry accused local groups of “launching treacherous attacks against internal security forces in several locations and striking some villages with rockets and mortars, resulting in the killing and wounding of a number of security personnel.”

A security source told Syrian state television that government forces regained control of Tal Hadid and other areas that were attacked on Sunday.