INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Israeli army said Wednesday that it struck near the entrance to the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus.The strike came as clashes
continued in the southern Syrian city of Sweida after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed.Israel has
launched a series of airstrikes on convoys of government forces since the clashes erupted, saying that it is acting to protect the Druze.The
Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam
More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria
Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War
and annexed in 1981.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE
Defense Ministry blamed militias in Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers
inside the city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who
leader, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war
suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities
The fears of minorities increased after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled into sectarian
revenge attacks in which hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed.Reports of killings
and looting in Druze areasThe latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes
and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community
Government forces that intervened to restore order have also clashed with the Druze, while reports have surfaced of members of the security
forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, looting and burning civilian homes.No official casualty figures have been released since Monday,
when the Syrian Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed
The U.K.-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 250 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including
to protect the Druze.The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam
More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria
Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War
and annexed in 1981.Israel threatens to scale up its interventionIn Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the
system while others have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region.On Wednesday, Israeli
Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of