Israel has accused Syria of failing to protect the Druze as Israeli forces occupy and attack parts of the country.Overnight Israeli air raids on Syria have killed at least two civilians as Israel has stated it is carrying out attacks to protect the Druze minority from government violence, a stance the Syrian Druze community itself rejects.
At least eight people were also reported injured after some 15 air raids hit multiple areas in Syria after midnight Saturday, with at least eight attacks hitting its capital Damascus.
The Israeli military confirmed the attacks on Saturday, saying its forces “struck a military site, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria” without giving further details or any evidence.
It comes a day after Israel carried out an attack near Syria’s presidential palace and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not allow Syrian forces to deploy south of Damascus nor tolerate “any threat to the Druze community”.
More than 100 people were killed this week during fighting between pro-government forces and Druze fighters in Syria.
Reporting from the Damascus suburb of Jaramana where clashes took place between pro-government forces and Druze fighters, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said there was an uneasy calm on Saturday. Advertisement
“A lot of people were in absolute fear. The fighters came in from multiple directions during the clashes on Tuesday, but they were beaten back by the security forces and then Jaramana was put under curfew for at least two days.”
He said during that time, a Druze delegation came in to reassure people that sec …
