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US says ‘very concerned’ about Israeli strikes in Syria's capital Damascus
The Israeli army launched a new round of strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they are “very concerned” about the Israeli strikes in Syria's Damascus on Wednesday, which killed one and injured at least 18, according to the Syrian health ministry.
The Israeli army launched a new round of strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday, state-run television reported, after Israel warning against targeting the Druze community.
What's happening in Syria?
Syrian government had deployed forces in Druze majority city of Sweida in the country's south on Tuesday, clashing with Druze fighters who previously controlled the area.
However, witnesses cited in reports said that the Syrian government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians through the city.
The fighting marks the worst violence in Syria since government forces fought Druze fighters in Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May leaving more than 100 people dead.
Shortly after Marco Rubio's statement, reports said that a new ceasefire agreement has been reached to end days of fighting between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern city of Sweida.
Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified Interior Ministry official, reported that “security checkpoints have been deployed in the city, and it has been fully integrated into the Syrian state.” There was no immediate statement from Druze officials on the ceasefire, which has previously been agreed to and fallen apart quickly.
According to an AFP news agency report, which cited a monitor, the death toll in south Syria violence now tops 300.
The Druze are an Arab sect of about a million people who primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In southern Syria's Sweida or Suwayda province, the community has several times in the past been caught between the forces of the former Assad regime and extremist groups during Syria’s ten-year civil war.
Israeli military official said on Wednesday that Israel will not let the Syrian army establish a military presence on their shared border and will protect the Druze population in southern Syria from attack.
After the strikes, the official said Israel was in close contact with the United States over the situation in Syria, adding that Israel was prepared for every eventuality.
The above-mentioned official, cited in a Reuters report, added that the Syrian army “was part of the problem, not the solution to the crisis”. He said it filed to protect the Druze minority in Syria.
The Israel Defence Forces described the military headquarters in Damascus as “the location from which Syrian regime commanders direct combat operations and deploy regime forces to the As-Suwayda area.”
Additionally, a military target in the area of the Syrian regime’s presidential palace in Damascus was struck, the IDF said in a statement on Telegram.
