Israel launched around 20 air strikes on Syria late on Friday in what the country's new rulers branded as a "dangerous escalation" The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel hit military targets across Syria in the "heaviest" bombardment so far this year The Sana news agency reported Israeli air strikes near Damascus and in the west Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the attack was intended to send a "message" to the nascent Syrian government against deploying forces south of Damascus They also said the attack was intended to deter threats against the country's Druze minority which Israel claims it is committed to "protecting" from attacks Deadly clashes broke out last week between pro-government fighters and local Druze gunmen resulting in the killing of dozens of people south of Damascus The tensions were in part over a now-debunked audio clip of a Druze cleric allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad Since rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad in December including dozens of air strikes and a major ground incursion Israeli leaders have repeatedly issued threats against the new Syrian president Israel launched drone strikes on Wednesday targeting the countryside around the Syrian capital and issued further threats of attacks claiming it was acting in defence of Druze civilians The Israeli military stated that its chief of staff had instructed forces to prepare for strikes against "targets in Syria" should the violence against the Druze community continue Syria’s Druze have kept some distance from the central state even before the Assad dynasty and today’s new government the country’s southernmost governorate along the border with Jordan as well as in Damascus suburbs further north has accused Israel of trying to further ignite turmoil in the region Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday that Israeli attacks were an unacceptable provocation and that he would meet US President Donald Trump face to face as they "understand each other" regarding policies in Syria our search for a compromise on a reasonable basis will surely continue," he said praising their previous contacts as "sincere Israel has lobbied the US to keep Syria weak and decentralised and on Tuesday Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed that the war on Gaza would only end when "hundreds of thousands" of Palestinians are forcibly displaced and Syria is dismembered Copyright © 2014 - 2025. Middle East Eye Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters Middle East Eye          ISSN 2634-2456                      Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed many children were detained with their mothers Thousands of these children have never been found parents of disappeared children have continued to search for answers NPR correspondent Diaa Hadid investigates: what happened to the disappeared children of Syria?This episode includes mentions of rape and torture This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Justine Yan It was edited by Jenny Schmidt and Vincent Ni Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org Become an NPR sponsor Syria says at least one civilian killed in latest strikes while most Druze leaders rebuff Israeli protection Israeli warplanes have carried out a series of airstrikes outside Damascus and across Syria after warnings from Israeli officials that the country would intervene to protect the Syria’s minority Druze sect The airstrikes targeted a Syrian military site in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, as well as hitting unknown targets in Deraa province in south Syria and Hama province in north-west Syria At least one civilian was killed and four people were injured as a result of the Israeli bombings late Friday night The latest round of strikes come after Israel killed four civilians earlier on Friday in a bombing in southern Syria and struck the vicinity of Syria’s presidential palace Syria’s new rulers had angrily denounced the raids launched by Israel’s air force against unidentified targets near the presidential palace earlier in the day Syria’s presidency called the strike “a dangerous escalation against state institutions and its sovereignty” and accused Israel of destabilising the country Israeli officials said the attacks were intended to send a message to the Syrian government after days of bloody clashes near Damascus between pro-government militia forces and fighters from the Druze minority sect said in a joint statement that the attack early on Friday was intended to deter the country’s new leadership from any hostile move against the Druze “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime We will not allow the deployment of forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community,” the statement said The Israeli army confirmed in a statement that fighter jets struck near to the area of the palace of the president Israel has said that it will protect the Druze religious minority in Syria a declaration that most Druze leaders have rebuffed The government in Damascus took power after ousting Bashar al-Assad in December last year and is dominated by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which has its roots in the al-Qaida jihadist network Though Syria’s new rulers have promised inclusive rule in the multi-confessional they face pressures from extremists within their own ranks Clashes broke out in Druze-majority areas outside Damascus on Tuesday after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man making derogatory comments about the prophet Muhammad which was falsely attributed to a Druze cleric one of the three Syrian Druze spiritual leaders accused Syria’s government of what he called an “unjustified genocidal attack” on the minority community Hijri released a statement calling for international protection for the Druze in southern Syria asking international forces to “intervene immediately” The two other Syrian Druze religious leaders chose to negotiate with Damascus directly and rejected calls for international intervention in Syria Free newsletterGet a different world view with a roundup of the best news said 56 people in Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana were killed including local armed fighters and security forces The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria largely in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed in 1981 The Syrian government has denied that any of its security forces were involved in the clashes with the Druze, which followed a wave of massacres in March when security forces and allied groups killed more than 1,700 civilians mostly from Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite community according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Since the fall of Assad’s regime in December Israel has launched repeated airstrikes on Syria destroying military hardware and stockpiles Israel has also sent troops to what was a demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights seizing key strategic terrain where Syrian troops were once deployed Analysts in Israel say the strategy aims to undermine the new Syrian government while also protecting and so co-opting a potential proxy ally within the country with some officials arguing that a stable Syria would better serve Israel’s interests told a visiting US congressman last week that Damascus wanted to normalise ties with Israel UN Secretary-General António Guterres is following developments in Syria where fresh fighting in the capital Damascus and elsewhere is threatening fragile efforts toward peace and political transition.  UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday that the Secretary-General “has been monitoring with alarm the reports of violence in the suburbs of Damascus and in the south of Syria including reports of civilian casualties and assassination of local administration figures.” More than 100 people have reportedly been killed in recent days during clashes with sectarian overtones Dujarric said the Secretary-General condemns all violence against civilians including acts which could risk inflaming sectarian tensions the UN chief also condemned Israel’s violation of Syria’s sovereignty including the latest airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus “It is essential that these attacks stop and that Israel respect Syria’s sovereignty The Secretary-General unequivocally called on all concerned to cease all hostilities exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation.  He was encouraged by intra-Syrian efforts to de-escalate the violence and maintain security and stability Guterres took note of the statement by Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa which prioritizes “dialogue and cooperation within the framework of national unity.” He also appealed to the interim authorities to transparently and openly investigate all violations Experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council also warned that the recent surge in violence “is deeply troubling” for peace efforts in Syria The Commission of Inquiry on Syria said the fighting raises the risk of further fragmentation and harm to civilians Members noted that hate speech and incitement on social media are fuelling tensions urging all sides to stop hostilities and commit to dialogue While a local agreement has reportedly been reached between Damascus authorities and community leaders the interim government remains responsible for protecting civilians The Commission also called for credible investigations into alleged abuses “Impunity for grave violations has in the past been a consistent driver of Syria’s conflict and must not be allowed to persist,” it said.  “Only by upholding the rule of law and ensuring justice accountability and reparations for victims and their families can Syria begin to rebuild trust across its fractured communities.” The Commission of Inquiry was initially established in August 2011 and its mandate has been consistently renewed, most recently in April The three Commissioners serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.   The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, voiced deep concern on Wednesday over the recent surge in violence across Syria particularly in the suburbs of Damascus and in Homs.  You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed the community - on both sides of the border - came under fire According to the Sözcü Turkish opposition media Turkish F-16s reportedly entered Syrian airspace over the weekend and sent "warning messages" to Israeli planes involved in a wave of strikes there The Israel Defense Forces denied such reports the incident occurred as part of one of the most intense Israeli operations since the fall of the Assad regime Several of the strikes' targets were reportedly pro-Turkish militias operating in northern Syria including the Sultan Murad and Suleyman Shah brigades According to various Turkish sources and Reuters Turkey seeks to strengthen its military presence in Syria in the post-Assad era and these warnings come in this context as Israel has also asserted its military force Turkish units reportedly aim at establishing themselves permanently in several strategic airbases including the T4 base in Homs and another in Hama deploying notably drones and air defense systems https://x.com/i/web/status/1918946451935072673 This post can't be displayed because social networks cookies have been deactivated You can activate them by clicking manage preferences Israel allegedly struck the T4 base a few hours before the arrival of a Turkish military delegation that came to evaluate the site Ankara accuses Israel of seeking to destabilize Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently stated that "Israeli attacks compromise the balance in the region since the fall of the Syrian regime." as French forces bombarded Damascus in the final months of World War II a rumor swept through the city’s Kurdish quarter on the slopes of Mount Qasioun: The Syrian government had collapsed and President Shukri al-Quwatli had fled the capital and some even raised the Kurdish tricolor flag — a symbol devised in 1920 by the Istanbul-based Society for the Rise of Kurdistan Inspired by the short-lived Kingdom of Kurdistan (1921-1925) in Sulaymaniyah the Kurds in Syria saw this as an opportunity for greater freedom Yet the Syrian authorities were quick to respond Foreign Minister Jamil Mardam Bey rushed to the Kurdish neighborhood Addressing the Kurds as “the glorious sons of Saladin,” he invoked the legacy of the 12th-century Kurdish sultan who had fought against the Crusaders and was buried near Damascus’ Great Umayyad Mosque but Kurdish separatism would resurface at various points throughout the rest of the 20th century Fast forward to the outbreak of the Syrian revolt against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 when young Kurds took the initiative once again They raised their flag in Kurdish areas east of the Euphrates River they would finally be able to revive their ancestral dream Syrian Kurds numbered approximately 2.5 million — 10% of the total population of Syria and 5% of the total Kurdish population worldwide Assad did not send his foreign minister to soothe their fears and talk to them form the militia that has now grown into a full-fledged army known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Syrian Kurds carved out their own autonomous region Five months after the toppling of Assad in December 2024 will hear nothing of Kurdish autonomy or statehood But it is equally clear that he does not want to fight the Kurds seeing that as an uphill battle that will damage his newly established revolutionary legitimacy and turn the West against him al-Sharaa has opted for a political approach reaching an agreement with SDF leader Mazloum Abdi on March 10 which calls for a merger of the latter’s forces with those of the newly established Syrian army The accord also promises to restore oil wells presently under Kurdish control to the authority of the Syrian government in Damascus while guaranteeing that state revenues are spent generously on the Kurdish territories This agreement is unlikely to solve Syria’s “Kurdish question,” which has dominated relations between Syrian Arabs and the country’s Kurdish minority Many Kurds have held positions of authority in Syria both before and after the country’s independence in 1946 Some have attained senior political positions and become wealthy But as the Ottoman period gave way to the modern era questions about the Kurdish minority’s place in Syria came to the fore the nationalist struggle that defined the 20th century and in Syrian Kurds being full citizens inside a Syrian republic it lay in Kurdish nationalism and pursuit of a state of their own This duality has existed within some of the most prominent Kurdish families The most notable Kurd of the early 20th century was Abdul Rahman Pasha al-Yusuf an Ottoman aristocrat and emir of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca since the 1890s Hailing from a Kurdish family originally from Diyarbakir he was among the most powerful men under Sultan Abdulhamid although he never assumed an official position at the court in Istanbul owning the entire shore of Lake Tiberias in Palestine; three villages in al-Ghouta the agricultural belt around Damascus; five villages in the countryside of Idlib; and 25 in the Golan Heights he was elected as a legislator for Damascus in the country’s first parliament The most prominent Kurdish family in Syrian politics which immigrated to the central city of Hama at the turn of the 18th century coming from Ayn Arab in northern Syria and Urfa in southeastern Turkey took part in the armed rebellion against the French in the 1920s served as a lawmaker for Hama in the Syrian parliament in the 1930s Yet the member of this large and illustrious family who had the most central role in the upheavals of the Cold War era was Husni al-Barazi who would go from agitator to prime minister His biography is a good example of the complex relationship between Syrian and Kurdish nationalism Barazi was among the early founders of the secret anti-Ottoman al-Fatat Society He was minister of the interior under the French Mandate only to be arrested for his connection to Syrian rebels staging a military uprising against the French from Jabal al-Druze He then served as prime minister from April 1942 to January 1943 and also established the Al-Nass newspaper in Damascus which gained widespread notoriety during the Cold War for being staunchly anti-Soviet and pro-American the Soviet Union and Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser His words were too much for Syrian intelligence: In 1957 the pro-Nasser head of military intelligence ordered the closure of Al-Nass and the arrest of Barazi on charges of “high treason.” The ex-premier happened to be in Turkey when this happened and spent the remainder of his years between Istanbul and Beirut where he died in 1975 without ever having returned to Syria Barazi stands as an example of the tension between Arab and Kurdish nationalism During his active years in Syrian politics always portraying himself as a Syrian and Arab nationalist But this identity did not seem to survive in exile for when he sat down with professor Yusuf Ibish of the American University of Beirut in the late 1960s he showed clear sympathy for the Kurdish nationalist movement and for the Barzani clan that was then leading its rebels against the Baath Party regime in Iraq This same duality of Arabism and Kurdish nationalism can also be seen in the life of Barazi’s cousin a brilliant legal mind with a doctorate in international law from the University of Lyon Muhsen al-Barazi was appointed bureau chief to President Quwatli in 1943 also acting as his speechwriter and adviser and as secretary-general of the Syrian presidency he served as minister of education in 1941 and then as minister of interior lobbied on behalf of another fellow Kurd named Husni al-Zaim a discharged military officer who was struggling to join the newly formed Syrian army Zaim was a Damascene Kurd who had served in the French Army of the Levant during the mandate but had been arrested and dismissed after charges of embezzlement during World War II Barazi talked Quwatli into returning Zaim to uniform service making him commander of military police and then chief of staff of the Syrian army during the Palestine War of 1948 It was in that capacity that Zaim launched his coup d’etat Muhsen al-Barazi helped Zaim draft a new constitution and following Syria’s second coup just months later That is just about all that Syrian history books say about him with the exception of a very interesting and forgotten passage in the 1977 memoirs of Munir al-Rayyes Rayyes was a hard-line Arab nationalist and future supporter of Nasser he claims that Muhsin al-Barazi had been secretary of the secret Kurdish society and credited with carrying out the 1930 Ararat rebellion in eastern Turkey Rayyes claims that Barazi’s “Syrianism” and closeness to Quwatli were merely cover for his true intentions which included “ceding half of Syria and three-quarters of Iraq in order to create Greater Kurdistan.” Rayyes adds that Barazi had penned all of Xoybun’s literature serving as the “secret philosopher” of the Kurdish nationalist movement in Syria The hard-boiled journalist wrote to Quwatli to complain and then paid him a personal visit asking how an Arab nationalist like himself could trust a Kurdish separatist like Barazi “was overseeing the systematic Kurdish emigration from Turkey to Syria to make the population of al-Jazira region entirely Kurdish That is where over half of our agricultural wealth is located President.” He prophetically added: “If al-Jazira becomes Kurdish then there will no longer be a country called Syria.” Quwatli dismissed his worries “Don’t worry; al-Jazira will forever remain Syrian,” to which Rayyes snapped sarcastically “Just like Palestine will forever remain Arab right?” He then wrapped up the meeting and said Some were registered as “ajanib” (“foreigners”) while others were recorded as “maktum al-qayd” (“unregistered”) As far as Syrian officialdom was concerned these Kurds no longer existed and could not buy or sell property The Kurdish question took on new dimensions under President Hafez al-Assad in the 1970s Assad hosted Iraqi Kurdish politicians who opposed the Baath regime in Baghdad a left-wing Kurd who founded the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Damascus in 1975 leader of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) which represented the traditional Kurdish landowning families Assad extended his hospitality to Abdullah Ocalan the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which was waging an insurgency against Turkey Ocalan’s presence in Syria was a strategic move to pressure Turkey over water rights in the Euphrates when escalating tensions with Ankara forced Assad to expel him Ocalan established military camps near Damascus and in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley Arab nationalists were baffled by this alliance between a regime ostensibly rooted in Arab nationalism and Kurdish leaders striving for autonomy the Kurds were a tool to unsettle his rivals: Presidents Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Suleyman Demirel in Turkey Whether the Kurds achieved statehood was of little concern to him as long as it occurred in northern Iraq or southeastern Turkey — not in northern Syria or northwestern Iran though those too were both regions that Kurds envisioned as part of a Greater Kurdistan given that these very same Kurdish fugitives inspired the Kurds of Syria to voice their own demands which started with cultural rights and grew into calls for autonomy and then As Kurdish politics seeped into Syrian discourse Assad ensured that no Syrians joined Ocalan’s army in Turkey or the parties of Talabani and Barzani in Iraq Those who did were arrested for promoting ethnic agendas Assad co-opted prominent Kurds in the religious establishment dean of the Faculty of Islamic Shariah at Damascus University Both supported his regime during his bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1970s and early ‘80s which culminated in the Hama Massacre of 1982 Bouti even led prayers at Assad’s funeral in 2000 He was killed in 2013 during the Syrian conflict Assad could not balance these opposing forces forever The creation of semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdistan after the 1991 Gulf War inspired Syrian Kurds to demand more political freedoms struggled to explain how former guests of Damascus were now leading a project Syrian media labeled as “imperial” and “backed by Israel.” Assad had participated in the 1963 crackdown on Kurdish separatists in Iraq Yet he now insisted that Syrian Kurds had no connection to the separatist movement even erecting a bronze statue of Saladin in Damascus on the 800th anniversary of his death in 1993 emphasizing Kurdish integration into Syrian identity Friction between Kurds and Arabs would erupt soon after Assad’s death in the early years of the rule of his son and successor during a soccer match in the Kurdish city of Qamishli Syrian Arabs raised photos of the recently deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein This greatly offended Kurdish members of the audience who despised the Iraqi dictator for his chemical weapons massacre in Halabja in March 1988 amid the Anfal campaign of February-September 1988 which killed an estimated 50,000-100,000 Iraqi Kurds tearing down a statue of Hafez al-Assad and storming the local branch of the Baath Party This marked the first major act of defiance against the Bashar al-Assad regime and set the stage for Kurdish involvement in Syria’s 2011 uprising The Kurdish struggle in Syria — from fleeting moments of defiance under French rule to the rise of Kurdish nationalism — reflects a century of shifting alliances Though the Kurds have repeatedly seized opportunities to assert their identity external pressures and regional power dynamics have consistently thwarted their aspirations for statehood The recent agreement between Damascus and the SDF may offer a fragile compromise but history suggests that Kurdish ambitions the Kurds remain an indelible force in Syria’s fractured landscape their fate still entangled with the whims of greater powers and the unresolved legacy of their past Become a member today to receive access to all our paywalled essays and the best of New Lines delivered to your inbox through our newsletters Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy Trip comes amid highly tense period after Islamist attacks on Syrian Druze An unusual team made up of a Jewish rabbi and an evangelical pastor will soon travel to Syria to “check and examine” the country’s new Islamist government which continues attempts to improve relations with the West despite the recent Islamist attacks on the Druze community whose reporter talked to Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Pastor Johnnie Moore after they recently met Syria’s new foreign minister in the U.S their upcoming visit will not be in any official capacity but will happen with President Donald Trump’s approval Cooper and Moore have acted as diplomatic vanguards in the past and both have close ties to the Trump administration Rabbi Cooper told the Israeli newspaper that the goal of the trip will be We did not experience a moment of kumbaya.” Moore and Cooper traveled to Bahrain on a similar mission which eventually led to the entry of the Gulf country into the Abraham Accords the context is much more challenging this time as the trip will follow shortly after dozens were killed in clashes between Islamist militias associated with the new government and Druze forces in southern Syria Israel has expressed its strong support for the Druze, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted several air strikes and a supply drop in Suweida province to assist the Druze the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa is officially continuing on a line designed to win the support and approval of the Western countries which it desperately needs for sanctions relief and assistance in reconstructing the war-torn country the Syrian Interior Ministry announced it had initiated procedures to arrest members of its security forces suspected of harming civilians in a Druze suburb of Damascus “The rule of law is the basis for addressing all issues within Syria,” the ministry declared adding it “reiterates that any harm to civilians will be dealt with severely by means prescribed by law.” In addition, after the grave of a Jewish rabbi was vandalized in Damascus last week Kan News reported that a pit dug into the grave had been filled and covered up The report added that the rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community in Israel was in contact with people close to Syrian President al-Sharaa in an effort to repair the damage and increase security around the grave Moore and Cooper said that Foreign Minister al-Shibani came into their recent meeting in the U.S It was clear that he had prepared,” Cooper told Israel Hayom Cooper and Moore presented a humanitarian project they would like to implement in Syria While the two countries have never made peace in the past, and relations have been particularly tense in recent weeks, U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman recently expressed optimism about the prospects for peace following a meeting with al-Sharaa in Damascus “We have an interest in what’s happening with minorities He said al-Sharaa knows “that Syria cannot be rebuilt the way he envisions without the U.S His vision is to unify Syria and rehabilitate it but that can only happen if the international sanctions on Syria are lifted also said they emphasized that normalization with Israel will be a necessary condition for ties with the U.S “The Syrian regime understands that enormous tasks lie ahead of it in order to realize the vision of Syria’s reconstruction “But we also need to remember what happened with the Taliban They promised to uphold minority rights and education for women but we need to see how it’s implemented and whether it can be implemented The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel Israel escalated its military campaign in Syria by launching airstrikes in the Damascus countryside and issuing threats against the Syrian leadership citing unrest in Druze-populated districts earlier this week which Syria said killed civilians including Druze residents came Thursday after violence erupted Tuesday and Wednesday in the Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and Jaramana areas near Damascus the clashes were sparked by a leaked audio message attributed to a Druze resident that included alleged insults against Prophet Muhammad Israel’s prime minister and defense minister called the airstrikes a “warning operation” to deter harm against the Druze community Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged international action to “protect minorities in Syria” from “the regime and its terrorist gangs.” Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a public threat: “If the harm to the Druze in Syria does not stop Syria denounced the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the country must resolve internal issues “through dialogue among its communities,” warning against foreign intervention The General Security Directorate said calm was restored in affected areas after talks with local leaders It announced a ceasefire and a plan to collect weapons in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya Israel’s public broadcaster reported that Druze soldiers in the Israeli army had appealed to top officials to “intervene” to protect their families across the border Syrian authorities said the violence had been stoked by “outlaws” seeking to create sectarian tensions Israeli strikes Wednesday reportedly targeted areas around Ashrafiyat Sahnaya said the strikes resulted in civilian casualties It marks one of the latest Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory Tel Aviv has intensified air raids across the country despite there being no threats from the Syrian administration Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967 Following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in December Israel declared the 1974 disengagement agreement void and seized control of the former demilitarized zone Tensions remain high as international concern grows because of Israeli actions under the stated aim of protecting minorities particularly during the second year of genocide in Gaza This is a locator map for Syria with its capital BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Qatar said Sunday they will pay Syria’s outstanding debt to the World Bank a move likely to make the international institution resume its support to the war-torn country A joint statement by the finance ministries of Saudi and Qatar said the decision to pay Syria’s nearly $15 million debt to the World Bank was made during this month’s meetings in Washington by the World Bank and IMF Syria’s Foreign Ministry thanked the two oil and gas-rich nations for paying the debt saying it opens the way for activating cooperation toward recovery and reconstruction after a 14-year conflict that killed half a million people and caused wide destruction in the country The United Nations in 2017 estimated that it would cost at least $250 billion to rebuild Syria Some experts now say that number could reach at least $400 billion The joint Saudi-Qatari statement said the payment of Syria’s loans will facilitate the resumption of World Bank support and activities in Syria that have been stalled for more than 14 years The statement added that the loan payment will allow Syria to take allotments from the World Bank in the near future for “vital sectors.” It did not elaborate A main obstacle for development projects in Syria are Western sanctions that were imposed on the country more than a decade ago mainly targeting Assad’s government and officials Treasury in January issued a general license that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government including some energy sales and incidental transactions has begun to ease some energy and transport sanctions and banking restrictions against Syria Foreign Affairs has been the leading forum for serious discussion of American foreign policy and global affairs The magazine has featured contributions from many leading international affairs experts SHIRA EFRON is Israel Policy Forum’s Research Director and The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow DANNY CITRINOWICZ is a Research Fellow in the Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies Shira Efron and Danny Citrinowicz In the months since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed Israel’s military activity in Syria has grown increasingly aggressive The Israel Defense Forces has seized the UN-monitored buffer zone created after the 1973 Yom Kippur War conducted systematic strikes against Syria’s infrastructure—bombing air defense networks and intelligence capabilities—and built nine new military posts Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly declared that the IDF will remain in Syria “indefinitely.” And in March Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to create zones of influence by making alliances with minority groups as well as to establish a 30-mile demilitarized area reaching from Israel’s nearly to Damascus All of this represents a sharp break with Israel’s longtime cautious approach toward its northeastern neighbor. Israel had felt that it could manage the Assad regime and the IDF’s actions after December began as a prudent effort to prevent strategic capabilities from falling into less well-known hands given his past terrorist associations and the fact that his previous military moniker reflected his desire to free the Golan Heights from Israeli occupation Syria’s new regime bent over backward to signal that it had no interest in conflict with Israel and even floated the possibility of normalizing ties The new Syrian government needs to be judged by its actions and not only its words But it presents Israel with a potentially golden opportunity to deepen Iran’s isolation turn Syria from a foe into a peaceful neighbor Although genuine national security concerns are driving the Israeli government’s approach to Syria so is a yearning to prove its strength and willpower to its neighbors as well as its own citizens who are deeply scarred by their government’s failure to protect the country’s borders on October 7 If Israel’s leaders give in to the impulse to ramp up its incursions into Syria they may well create a new enemy when there is currently none And Israel will put itself even more at odds with Turkey driving both countries toward the brink of an unnecessary new military conflict Israel must communicate that its territorial incursions are meant to be temporary and stop undermining Turkey’s attempts to help Shara stabilize the country and stand up to Iranian influence Israel should also prepare to work with Damascus as long as it neither takes nor enables actions that threaten Israel’s security Under a quarter century of rule by Assad, Syria became an integral part of Iran’s so-called axis of resistance. Assad worked to deepen his strategic alliance with Hezbollah helping to transform the Lebanese militant group into a menacing terrorist army by allowing it to use Syrian arsenals and strategic capabilities that Assad received from Russia such as advanced ballistic missiles and air defense systems Israel was traumatized by its 2006 war against Hezbollah (which Hezbollah saw as a victory) and the Israelis spent the next decade mostly refraining from trying to disrupt Syria’s alliance with the group When the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011 Israel did try to prevent the consolidation of Hezbollah and Iran’s footholds in Syria by conducting what it called the “campaign between the wars,” focusing mainly on preventing Iran from smuggling weapons into Lebanon But although Israel officially supported neither side in Syria’s civil war Israeli leaders preferred Assad to his opponents referring to him in private as the “devil we know” and making sure that Israel’s efforts to counter Iran’s growing influence would not risk his rule Israel’s approach in Syria did not immediately change following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 onslaught. But that devastating assault set changes in motion. The attack made it clear that Israel had misjudged both the intentions and capabilities of an adversary; it was clear that the country’s security services had also relied excessively on electronic monitoring to secure the border with Gaza The lesson that many Israeli officials took was that their strategy of “quiet for quiet”—turning a blind eye to small provocations to avoid major conflict—had failed the IDF changed its doctrine along all of Israel’s borders emphasizing preemptive action and creating so-called buffer zones in adversaries’ territory Over the past 18 months, Israel’s appetite to consolidate buffer zones has only grown. In March 2025, Defense Minister Katz said that the IDF’s expanding ground operations in Gaza were intended to “capture extensive territory” that would be permanently “added to the State of Israel’s security areas.” In Lebanon despite signing a ceasefire with Hezbollah in November—and despite the fact that a new less Hezbollah-friendly government took over Beirut in February—the IDF retains a presence at five strategic points near the border This is meant to reassure Israeli border communities that they will never again be left defenseless Even though Israel’s fatal campaign against Hezbollah and its deterrence efforts against Iran—as well as Russia’s preoccupation in Ukraine—had left Assad defenseless his regime’s collapse took Israel by surprise Israel had to develop a new Syria strategy on the fly Israel moved to destroy Syrian air force bases and missile depots; bolstered its border defenses; and took over the UN’s 145-square-mile buffer zone Given that Syria’s new regime does not present Israel with an imminent threat this approach has much less strategic merit than it does in Lebanon The Israeli-Syrian border has remained peaceful throughout the Gaza war and Israelis living along it have not had to leave Damascus’s new leaders have repeatedly stressed that they plan to include minorities and secular Syrians in their government and establish their credibility with Western actors Shara’s government abandoned Syria’s long-standing official anti-Israeli rhetoric Shara also pledged to uphold the Agreement on Disengagement that Syria and Israel had inked in 1974 which provided for an indefinite cease-fire whether with Israel or anyone else,” he declared in December adding that he would not “let Syria be used as a launchpad for attacks.” It remains to be seen how closely Shara will adhere to these vows many Israeli leaders have begun to treat Shara’s government as if it is simply destined to be yet another adversary the IDF invaded at least two other areas in Syria beyond the buffer zone and increased the frequency and scale of its strikes deep into Syrian territory although the tempo has declined over the past two weeks Israel says some of its actions are intended to protect minority groups Yet many members of the Syrian Druze community view Israel’s claims to be their ally with suspicion: in mid-March protests broke out in the majority-Druze Syrian town of Suwayda during which Druze leaders accused Israel of undermining Syria’s territorial integrity Israel’s attempt to create partnerships with non-Sunni Muslim minorities cuts against most war-weary Syrians’ wish for a unified and stable country Netanyahu’s insistence that the entirety of Syria south of Damascus must be “demilitarized” is a goal Shara will be hard-pressed to accept as it would likely mean ceding control over this area Israel has also been undermining Shara by lobbying the United States to maintain its sanctions on Syria and closely coordinating with Moscow to help Russia keep its military bases Israel’s overture toward Russia is puzzling considering that the Russian intervention in Syria to save Assad a decade ago helped entrench Iranian influence in the Middle East Israel’s mistrust of Shara’s government constitutes another paradox Israeli leaders have accused Shara’s team of hiding its true colors: in March Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar claimed that the people on Shara’s team “were jihadists and remain jihadists even if some of their leaders have donned suits.” But Israel is counting on Shara’s anti-Iran stance to stop Iran from reestablishing its regional influence And although undermining Shara’s power may strengthen Israel’s grip on its buffer zone in the short term the country’s long-term interest is in a stable Syria Israel has also been working to prevent Turkey from consolidating influence in Syria Israel has foiled Turkish efforts to rebuild the Syrian army’s capabilities by bombing air bases that Ankara sought to take over Israeli official discourse has increasingly treated Turkey as an enemy: a January 2025 report by a government-appointed committee on the defense budget referred to the “Turkish threat,” alleging that Turkey hopes to render the Syrian military “a Turkish proxy as part of Turkey's dream of restoring the Ottoman crown to its former glory.” That would “deepen the danger of a direct Turkish-Israeli confrontation.” In late March Sa’ar posted on social media that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “anti-Semitic” and a “threat” to “the region.” Israeli leaders seem bent on understanding their country as imperiled—and tempted to substitute the diminished threat posed by the Iranian axis of resistance with a purported new Turkish one Erdogan has done his part to damage relations between the countries in 2024 comparing Netanyahu to Hitler and accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza Ankara wants to add Syria to its sphere of influence which could hinder the Israeli military’s freedom of action and bring Turkish troops to Israel’s doorstep Yet Turkey is not Israel’s adversary: the two countries share strong economic and security interests and Israel should not aggravate NATO’s largest military while fighting a multifront war Israel’s posture certainly reflects the country’s more externally aggressive post–October 7 mindset Netanyahu’s political base relishes social media posts showing IDF tanks cruising Syria Netanyahu’s coalition likely hopes that offering protection to the Druze in Syria could appeal to members of the Israeli Druze community who are loyal Israeli citizens and serve in the IDF yet suffer from discrimination compared with the country’s Jewish majority But Israel’s approach in Syria is already backfiring Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra told The Washington Post that the IDF’s incursions were a “violation against the Syrian people,” a pivot from the Shara regime’s initial practice of not criticizing Israel He complained that Israel showed little gratitude for how Shara’s takeover helped deter Iran a common enemy: “They had a problem with Iran; we saved them from Iran.” For several months Shara refrained from criticizing Israel’s escalatory behavior which Israeli leaders could have taken as a hopeful sign defining Israel’s advances as “hostile expansionism.” IDF troops in Syria came under fire by unknown militants Shara—who has been courting Syrian minorities—could allow or even back such militant groups’ attacks on IDF troops Resentment toward the IDF could increase the potential for insurgency would likely pull the IDF deeper into Syrian territory If the new Syrian government remains moderate and can consolidate its authority It would have a stable neighbor not beholden to Iran—one that possesses an effective military that can do its own work to address threats from extremist groups Israel is not a passive bystander to the trajectory of Syrian politics It can encourage Shara’s moderation by welcoming Damascus’s overtures of two senior leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group Israel should articulate publicly that its territorial advances are designed to be temporary until a responsible force can secure the other side of the border Israel should minimize friction with Syria’s population and its new government by reducing its visible military footprint and communicating with Shara’s team through back channels Israel should capitalize on the gains it has made to secure the Israeli-Syrian border by demanding a diplomatic agreement to ensure the protection of Syria’s Druze community and to demilitarize the Golan Heights Israel must also change its approach to Turkey In a meeting with Netanyahu earlier this month President Donald Trump praised Erdogan and called for the two countries to repair their relationship But if Trump follows through on his intent to withdraw U.S that may leave Israel and Turkey to bicker over the country without adult supervision a round of talks began between Israel and Turkey Israel should use these discussions not only to establish a deconfliction mechanism but to deescalate tensions altogether Israel’s current approach resembles its efforts to create a security zone in southern Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s—which resulted in a war of attrition that deepened Lebanese resentment and made it much easier for Hezbollah to take over the country upon the IDF’s withdrawal in 2000 The Israeli government should work more closely with regional and international partners to keep Syria from again falling into the Iranian orbit as well as to disable and remove the residues of biological and chemical weapons left over from the Assad era Israel could also relieve Syria’s economic crisis by helping to provide the country with energy That—more than showy military incursions without a complementary diplomatic strategy—will help Israel secure the regional influence it truly wants Subscribe to Foreign Affairs to get unlimited access Already a subscriber? Sign In Boyd van Dijk Asad Ghanem and Basel Khalaily Amos Harel Dana Stroul Dennis Ross Lisa Anderson Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay Tong Zhao Zongyuan Zoe Liu Anne Neuberger Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage * Note that when you provide your email address, the Foreign Affairs Privacy Policy and Terms of Use will apply to your newsletter subscription Published by The Council on Foreign Relations Privacy Policy Terms of Use From the publishers of  Foreign Affairs This website uses cookies to improve your experience You can opt-out of certain cookies using the cookie management page * Note that when you provide your email address, the Foreign Affairs Privacy Policy and Terms of Use will apply to your newsletter subscription Which language would you like to use this site in The Syrian government must ensure that the perpetrators of a wave of mass killings targeting Alawite civilians in coastal areas are held accountable and take immediate steps to ensure that no person or group is targeted on the basis of their sect killed more than 100 people in the coastal city of Banias on 8 and 9 March 2025 according to information received by Amnesty International The organization has investigated 32 of the killings targeted at the Alawite minority sect and unlawful Armed men asked people if they were Alawite before threatening or killing them and appeared to blame them for violations committed by the former government Families of victims were forced by the authorities to bury their loved one in mass burial sites without religious rites or a public ceremony “The perpetrators of this horrifying wave of brutal mass killings must be held accountable Our evidence indicates that government affiliated militias deliberately targeted civilians from the Alawite minority in gruesome reprisal attacks – shooting individuals at close range in cold blood authorities failed to intervene to stop the killings Syrian civilians have found themselves bearing the heaviest cost as parties to the conflict seek to settle scores,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard “Deliberately killing civilians or deliberately killing injured surrendered or captured fighters is a war crime   States have an obligation to ensure prompt effective and impartial investigations into allegations of unlawful killings and to hold perpetrators of international crimes to account Syria risks falling back into a cycle of further atrocities and bloodshed “Syrians have already endured more than a decade of impunity for the grave violations and mass atrocities by Assad’s government and armed groups The latest massacres targeting the Alawite minority create new scars in a country already burdened by too many unhealed wounds It is critical that the new authorities deliver truth and justice for the victims of these crimes to signal a break with the past and zero tolerance for attacks on minorities Syria risks falling back into a cycle of further atrocities and bloodshed” In the days that followed, militias affiliated with the current government deliberately killed Alawite civilians in towns and cities along the coast, including the city of Banias, which was the site of a widely reported 2013 massacre by Bashar al-Assad’s government On 9 March, President Ahmed al-Sharaa pledged to hold perpetrators of crimes accountable established a fact-finding committee to investigate the events on the coast and formed a higher committee to maintain civil peace While the fact-finding committee appears to be a positive step towards establishing what happened and identifying suspected perpetrators the authorities must ensure that the committee has the mandate expertise and resources to effectively investigate these killings This should include access to and the ability to protect  witnesses and families of victims They should also ensure that the committee has adequate time to complete its investigation Amnesty International conducted interviews with 16 people including five living in Banias city and seven in other areas in the coast Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab verified nine videos and photos shared with researchers or posted on social media between 7 and 21 March 2025 Amnesty International interviewed nine people including five residents of Banias city who reported that 32 of their relatives and neighbours had been deliberately killed by government-affiliated militias in Banias city between 8 and 9 March 2025 30 were killed in al-Qusour neighborhood in Banias city Amnesty International also interviewed a medical worker in Banias city Interviewees identified their close relatives and neighbours and described to Amnesty International how they were killed The organization also received the names of 16 civilians whose relatives reported that they had been deliberately killed in Latakia and Tartous countryside after Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied armed opposition groups captured Damascus the interim government announced that all armed factions would be dissolved and integrated into government armed forces mostly by militias affiliated with the authorities effective investigations and holding the perpetrators of these horrific killings to account,” Callamard said “The government has obligations to carry out a human rights vetting process Where there is admissible evidence that a person committed serious human rights violations in a position where they could repeat such violations.”  Four residents of al-Qusour neighbourhood described how they heard heavy gunfire on 7 March 2025 The next day scores of militia men affiliated with the current government entered the neighbourhood Samira* told Amnesty International that a group of armed men raided her home at around 10am on 9 March and killed her husband One of the men asked her and her husband whether they were Alawite and then blamed the death of his brother on the Alawite community She said: “I begged them not take [my husband] I explained that we had nothing to do with killings that happened in the past or the death of his brother.” She said that the men took her husband to the roof telling him they would show him how Alawites had killed Sunnis she said: “I went to the roof and saw his body I had to flee for my life and begged my neighbour to protect the body.” Amnesty International reviewed six images showing his body Ahmad* received a phone call from his relative informing him that armed men raided his home and shot his father He said: “My mother told me that four armed men entered our home early in the morning Their first question was if [my family members] were Alawite.” The men began beating Ahmad’s brother “[My father] was ordered to turn away… As he did an armed man shot him in the back with the bullet exiting his chest… 20 minutes later they came back and took the body.” Amnesty International reviewed a video showing blood scattered on the floor Ahmad said that another close relative had to search through bodies at a nearby hospital multiple times until they were able to find his father’s body A medical worker confirmed to Amnesty International that they received scores of bodies from militias Families had to search through bodies to find their loved ones Saed* was visiting his parents in the neighbourhood for the weekend the family heard gunshots and then silence Saed said: “I called my family to follow me and ran outside the door towards the roof but I looked behind and [my family] wasn’t there… Then I heard the armed men ask my brother if you are Alawite or Sunni My brother responded but his voice was trembling My second brother intervened and told them: ‘Take anything you want but leave us’ Then I heard my father’s voice and then it sounded like they were taking them downstairs.” After that he heard gunshots Amnesty International reviewed images which showed three bodies located outside of what appeared to be a residential building Witnesses told Amnesty International that many of the men involved in the killings were Syrian but that there were also some foreigners amongst them the authorities did not intervene to end the killings nor did they provide residents with safe routes to flee the armed men Two residents told Amnesty International they had to walk for at least 15km through the woods to seek safety Three others said the only way for them to flee was when they were able to secure car rides from  HTS a former armed group integrated into the government armed forces Seven interviewees told Amnesty International that they or their relatives were not allowed by authorities to bury family members killed in al-Qusour neighbourhood according to religious rites bodies were piled up in an empty lot next to Sheikh Hilal cemetery close to the neighbourhood Saed* said security forces dug an empty lot next to the cemetery and lined the bodies up He was not allowed to take photos or have other family members present during the burial “I was alone burying my brothers [on 10 March] Corpses are next to each other and above each other and then the truck covered the grave with soil.”   Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab verified four pictures of the burial site in in al-Qusour neighborhood which showed graves marked in an informal manner Satellite imagery confirms the ground in the area was scraped between 8 and 10 March 2025 According to international humanitarian law according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged and Together we can fight for human rights everywhere Your donation can transform the lives of millions If you are talented and passionate about human rights then Amnesty International wants to hear from you Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times and hashing out plans to equip some with air-defence systems and armed drones Preparations for Turkey’s takeover of the t4 air base near Palmyra were said to be under way Israeli planes bombed t4’s runway and radar systems They hit at least two more bases and other military targets in Syria This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Proxy wars” Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents The disqualification of another opposition candidate bodes ill for democracy Amid constant conflict, the country’s economy can’t catch a break Why a dirty fuel remains stubbornly important on the continent America’s evangelicals may be Ahmed al-Sharaa’s most important allies Ali Khamenei has no choice but to engage with the Great Satan This issue is preventing our website from loading properly. 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LOGIN Downloadable PDFs are a benefit of an FP subscription This article is an Insider exclusive Contact us at [email protected] to learn about upgrade options unlocking the ability to gift this article DAMASCUS—On a recent Friday afternoon at the Umayyad Mosque in Syria’s capital Uyghur fighters joined thousands of other worshippers for weekly prayers as just another group of rebels in uniform Since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad Uyghurs have become increasingly visible around Damascus but their future in the country is tenuous and could prove an obstacle for a new government in Syria seeking to assure global powers that it can keep foreign fighters from threatening those beyond its borders thousands of Uyghurs made their way to Syria from China via Turkey Uyghur leaders in Syria say their community numbers around 15,000 Most live in the rebel-held city of Idlib or in enclaves near the city of Jisr al-Shughur The “Turkistanis,” as many Syrians refer to them have opened schools and operate gas stations and restaurants which some of their Syrian neighbors have developed a taste for as well and hundreds are enrolled in Idlib University where the interim government has announced they The interim Syrian government has included them in its official military structure as well a nod to the role their fighters played in toppling Assad—a war that Uyghur leaders say cost around 1,100 Uyghur lives hundreds of military commanders dressed in uniform assembled to hear Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa give his first speech since toppling Assad and among them was Abdulaziz Davud Hudaberdi an ethnic Uyghur from a village near Aksu in China Hudaberdi came to Syria in 2012 and leads the local branch of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) a group that most of the Syrian Uyghurs belong to he was instrumental in helping to end the Assad regime and was rewarded with a position as a brigadier general in the Syrian army along with two other Uyghurs who were appointed colonels There are about half a dozen foreign fighters who have been given such ranks in the new Syria The TIP’s presence in Syria could prove consequential for the future of the country as it looks to have international sanctions against it lifted which led the charge against Assad and has since been dissolved and folded into the new government is listed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations China has indicated the presence of groups such as the TIP continue to dissuade it from supporting any change in that designation run up against concerns about how it treats the Uyghur minority at home sparked by reports of mass incarceration and allegations of a state-led effort to erase the ethnic group’s religious and cultural distinctiveness China’s policy in Xinjiang—or East Turkistan as some Uyghurs refer to it—has garnered the ethnic minority sympathy among Western governments and emboldened some in the Uyghur diaspora to openly call for independence from Beijing the TIP is the first successful fighting force their cause has had “We are proud of them,” said Rukiye Turdush a Uyghur Canadian academic and former head of the East Turkistanian Federation of Canada She said the scenes of Syrian prisoners being freed from captivity gave her hope that Uyghurs kept in prisons and so-called reeducation camps in China by some estimates in the hundreds of thousands “Some people said when they opened the doors of Assad’s prisons they cried a lot because they felt like they were opening Chinese prisons,” Turdush said Like many of the Uyghurs who ended up in Syria Hudaberdi spent years looking for a place to settle outside China The 48-year-old was in and out of prison in China through the late 1990s and 2000s he obtained a fake passport and made his way to Malaysia Hudaberdi traveled to Iran and then Afghanistan where he linked up with fledgling Uyghur militant groups that struggled to maintain a presence amid U.S drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistani military operations across the border in Waziristan but the group was diminished in numbers to the point that the United States delisted it as a terrorist organization in 2020 saying that “there has been no credible evidence that ETIM continues to exist.” Beijing insists the TIP is just the ETIM operating under a different name and that it continues to be affiliated with al Qaeda attributing a string of incidents in China—from assassinations of pro-government imams to knife attacks—to the group as well as the 2016 suicide bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek a professor at George Washington University who studies Uyghur populations says none of these attacks are “clearly attributed” to either the TIP or ETIM The TIP spokesperson in Syria affirmed that the group was not responsible for these attacks The spokesperson added that the TIP has no aspirations to launch international terrorist campaigns as these are counterproductive to the group’s long-term mission to garner global political support and that it no longer has ties to al Qaeda it was at a time when a stream of Uyghur migrants were making their way there thousands of young men crossed into rebel-held Syria This was part of a movement that was encouraged in part by the tacit approval of the Turkish government who conducted extensive interviews with the migrants Turkey was trying to walk a fine line: It already hosted millions of Syrian refugees but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also sought to maintain public support for the Uyghur cause to keep nationalists onside “A lot of the people who ended up [in Syria] were people who basically had left China to go to Turkey,” Roberts said potentially some of them with Turkish government approval that there you have to work with this group you’ll be able to someday go back and fight for your homeland The TIP in Syria says its members were drawn to the country looking for a place to settle but that many joined the fight against Assad because it reminded them of tactics deployed against them in China: large-scale spying and discrimination based on ethnic and religious beliefs “The Uyghurs saw parallels between the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad and that of the Chinese Communist Party,” the TIP spokesperson said TIP fighters went on to take part in rebel campaigns in Jisr al-Shughur Hudaberdi lost family members to regime airstrikes he graduated from HTS’s military academy in Idlib he led fighters participating in the blitz that saw the rebels eventually reach Damascus The chance of the TIP still having links to global jihadi groups has kept some Uyghur diaspora leaders from expressing support for it Many Uyghur diaspora groups in the West “have shied away from saying the group even exists claiming [the TIP] is a conspiracy by China to discredit them globally.” Meanwhile others take the position that “we should be proud to have overthrown Assad and this shows if we ever did have a state The future of the TIP in Syria will depend on what kinds of concessions the new government is forced to make to outside powers Hudaberdi and the thousands of Uyghur fighters who make up the TIP are now part of the Syrian military But they still do not have Syrian citizenship has said foreign fighters were an integral part of the rebel victory and has mused that providing them with citizenship was something worth looking at His government has also attempted to assure others that it no longer has global jihadi ambitions And while HTS made far more headway than the Taliban have since taking power in Afghanistan there may be important lessons from that conflict for Syria which monitors jihadi activity in the region “The HTS takeover of Syria is the second case of a jihadist militant group that has taken control of a full country in this century,” Firdous said He questioned whether the TIP’s members have been organically integrated into Syria or simply incorporated on paper to assuage global concerns about their presence the Taliban have paid foreign fighters to put aside their global jihadi aspirations including the TIP in its military chain of command For China, a militant Uyghur presence in neighboring Afghanistan was a bigger threat than one in Syria. That is partly why Beijing has been keen to court the Taliban hoping to extract assurances that jihadis won’t launch attacks from the country and to some degree it has succeeded: In the past two decades only a handful of attacks on China or Chinese interests abroad have been linked—and even then Whether that same success is repeated in Syria remains to be seen Umar Farooq is a journalist based in Istanbul. X: @UmarFarooq_ Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription View Comments Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now Please follow our comment guidelines The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day Specialty rates for students and faculty. Lock in your rates for longer. Unlock powerful intelligence for your team. An Open Doors spokesperson warns that misleading reports online of a ‘slaughter of Christians’ in Syria could leave Syrian believers in danger Open Doors supporters are among many around the world who are steadfastly praying for Syria, in the wake of recent violence. More than 1,500 people were killed in recent hostilities in Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus The church in Syria is asking for urgent prayer as the country faces further turmoil There have been reports on social media that Christians are particularly targeted in these attacks with some influential commentators asking why the ‘mainstream media’ isn’t reporting on this religiously motivated violence It has even been accused of being a ‘cover up’ but only four of those killed are known to be Christians – and they do not appear to have been targeted for their faith All reports suggest that nearly all the civilians killed were from the Alawite people The Alawites are an ethnoreligious group which is an offshoot of Shia Islam The deposed former President Bashar al-Assad had the same background “We have no evidence that any of them were killed because of their faith.” Communications officer for Open Doors in the Middle East and North Africa says that he has seen no evidence of any major attack on Christians in the last few days – despite reports of a ‘slaughter of Christians’ from some online “We know that four Christian men have died in the region where the violence took place We know that one of them was hit by a stray bullet,” says Matthew Barnes “And we have no evidence that any of them were killed because of their faith This certainly doesn’t equate to a ‘slaughter of Christians’.” Matthew Barnes is concerned that false rumours spreading online could have severe negative repercussions for Syria’s Christians because something like this can rebound onto the Christians there,” he says “When a Christian NGO recently started a lawsuit against the new president the Syrian government summoned a bishop from the same denomination as the NGO and asked why Christians are so against the president.” Barnes explains that those with the power to persecute Christians are increasingly aware of what is being said about Syria online: “The lesson is that we must assume that everything that’s in the news will be seen by governments and other armed groups And that can have terrible repercussions on the Christian population who likely had nothing to do with the rumours.” While this recent violence has not disproportionately impacted Christians that isn’t to say that the situation in the country is safe for believers “When I visited Christians in Syria last week Now I think they are more cautious,” says Matthew Barnes “Churches in Tarus and in Batia and the surrounding villages cancelled all their church services Christians in the Mediterranean region are very fearful that they will be stuck in the middle of this infighting.” “Christians in the Mediterranean region are very fearful that they will be stuck in the middle of this infighting.” there are existing persecution issues in the country Christians in Syria who have converted from Islam are particularly vulnerable to persecution from their families and communities There is also the legacy of the previous takeover of Syria by so-called Islamic State in which Christians were brutally targeted Barnes continues: “One person I know said that she knows of people now wanting to leave the country Hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled Syria in recent years I’m afraid if violence like this becomes commonplace Matthew Barnes joins the Syrian church in asking for the global church to keep praying “What people can do in the first place is prayer Pray that the government will be able to control all those people with bad intentions like those who killed so many civilians Please also pray for Christians in the country to be salt and light in the face of this wave of violence and fear pray for all Syrians affected by the tragic killings Though the violence is not currently targeting Christians the country still certainly needs our prayers inspiring testimonies and prayer requests from the persecuted church by signing up to regular Open Doors emails Subscribe today to hear more about your persecuted church family Registered Charity in England and Wales No Scotland SC043710 and Republic of Ireland 20140984 either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content The overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have marked a major blow to the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance coalition but a new group styling itself in a similar manner has emerged to challenge the interests of the United States and its feuding top Middle Eastern allies "As for praising the role of the Zionist entity and the Turkish occupation given that [the U.S.] is the sponsor of chaos terrorism and evil around the world," the political office of the group officially known as the "Islamic Resistance Front in Syria - Uli al-Baas," told Newsweek But the group emphasizes that it distinguishes between the U.S. government and its people. As such, asked for a message to send to the president, as a number of other Axis of Resistance factions have shared with Newsweek in the past citing a gap between the White House and its constituency "We believe that successive American administrations do not represent the American people and do not reflect the character of sound coexistence with diverse peoples that the American people enjoy," Uli al-Baas said "we do not address a message to those who do not represent their people but rather represent the dreams of a global government that is trying to dissolve humanity in order to achieve great gains around the world." Uli al-Baas remains largely shrouded in mystery since emerging to a volatile scene in Syria in January just weeks after Assad's quarter-century rule came to an end at the hands of an Islamist-led coalition of rebels on December 9 the group announced an armed campaign against Israeli troops seizing further territory in southern Syria beyond the already occupied Golan Heights such as those at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Israel's Alma Research and Education Center have speculated that the group has its origins in an effort by Iran to maintain influence in a country long considered the Islamic Republic's top Arab ally under the Assad dynasty U.S.-Syria ties deteriorated after the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011 sponsoring various insurgent groups before shifting its support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) As the SDF waged a separate campaign against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) regained much of the territory lost to rebels and jihadis the conflict fell into a virtual stalemate until the shock offensive led by insurgent groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army Some groups that fought alongside the former government such as the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) largely framing their operations as a response to Israel's expanded occupation which officially advocates for a "Greater Syria" encompassing large parts of the Levant and its periphery called on December 17 for "the establishment of a Syrian front to stand up against the blatant aggression" of invading Israeli forces debuting under the title of the "Southern Liberation Front" before rebranding itself on January 11 to its current name and image particularly the raised Kalashnikov-style rifle matches a signature pattern established by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and later incorporated into the logos of Lebanon's Hezbollah officially known as the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon such as the various militias that make up the Islamic Resistance in Iraq The term "Uli al-Baas," which appears several times in the Quran, was also used by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem to describe the group's confrontation with Israel after the assassination of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah was one of several Axis of Resistance factions to intervene on behalf of the Palestinian Hamas movement after its October 7 attack against Israel that sparked the still-ongoing war in the Gaza Strip But while acknowledging its participation in the Axis of Resistance Uli al-Baas maintains that it is "not affiliated with any regional party or any country," nor does it claim links to any other groups present in Syria nationalist movement with an Arab nationalist dimension unaffiliated with any existing organization in Syria," the group said "It has its own political project of resistance that guarantees the establishment of a strong Its objective is to "lead a state-building process based on citizenship and true affiliation." It does not view restoring Assad who fled to Russia as rebels descended on Damascus in December to power "as politically realistic," but it also does not endorse his successor HTS leader-turned-Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa "We cannot support individuals," Uli al-Baas which continues to promote the Syrian flag used under Assad "We believe that the Syrian people are the decision-makers." Newsweek has reached out to the Syrian Ministry of Information for comment view expelling Israeli forces in southern Syria as part of its mandate The incursion marked the first time Israel had significantly moved past the armistice line established during the last war between the two in 1973 The land grab was accompanied by some of Israel's largest scale strikes against sites said to be affiliated with the military of the former Syrian government as the Israeli air campaign continues and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) signals no intent to leave its expanded area of control in Syria as a representative of a segment of the population to be in a position to defeat the occupation." Uli al-Baas appeared to enforce this claim last month taking responsibility for a series of clashes with Israeli troops in the southern province of Daraa acknowledged "a few incidents in southern Syria lately tactical but interesting incidents of clashes with our forces." "We are very adamant to make sure that no force that is a dangerous force that is a running distance from our communities," the Israeli military official told Newsweek "We have seen some of the things that happened in Syria in recent weeks even and we have to stay vigilant on our border and make sure we are there to defend our people make sure that there is no threat that is posing on our doors." most recently striking near the central city of Palmyra on Sunday and a military base in Hama province on Wednesday The IDF said it "will continue to operate to remove any threat to Israeli civilians," in a statement Wednesday Israeli Deputy Consul General in New York Tsach Saar also described Israel's operations in Syria as being rooted in self-defense "Israel is not attacking the regime or the people of Syria," Saar told Newsweek "If there are from time to time operations it's just to make sure that strategic weapons that are there will not be used against Israel." Amid public assurances issued by Sharaa that his government posed no threat to Israel, Saar expressed skepticism toward Syria's new leadership given its past ties to jihadi organizations, such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS We're still trying to assess where it's heading Let's not forget that Al-Golani and his people are always a jihadist,' even if he wears a suit "We have to make sure that our northern border is safe and secure we don't want to have a war with Syria." Saar added I think during this time of turmoil in the region it's important that some very problematic and dangerous capabilities that are left in Syria will be dismantled and we have to make sure they will not be turned against us one day." While Sharaa's administration has condemned the Israeli strikes Uli al-Baas has accused the interim government of being complicit due to its lack of retaliation The group issued a statement last month referring to its operations against Israeli troops as affirming both "the revolution of the free Syrian people against the tyranny of the occupation and a clear declaration of rebellion against the de facto government which is paving the way for this occupier to divide the homeland." largely concentrated alongside the SDF in the northeast as well as in a southern desert garrison alongside the predominantly Arab Syrian Free Army For months after the war in Gaza first erupted, U.S. forces faced near-daily attacks by local militias operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, prompting retaliatory airstrikes. These groups largely paused this campaign after then-President Joe Biden announced a plan to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by September of this year forces in both Iraq and Syria is now in question under the Trump administration which has advocated for a reduced military presence in the Middle East and oversaw a historic deal in which the SDF agreed to integrate its autonomous administration into Sharaa's government Faced with a new challenger in the emergence of Uli al-Baas a State Department spokesperson said the U.S would continue to seek stability and fair governance in Syria and to ensure that designated terrorist organizations would not be able to operate in the country civilian-led government that can ensure national institutions are effective State Department spokesperson told Newsweek. "Long-term stability and prosperity for the people of Syria requires a government that protects all Syrians equally." the United States wants a Syria that lives in peace with its neighbors and prohibits terrorists from using its territory as a safe haven," the spokesperson added The U.S. continues to consider HTS a terrorist organization despite Sharaa claiming to have rejected jihadi ideologies in recent years and dissolving the group upon taking office in December. The Trump administration has also condemned violence targeting minority groups perpetrated by Syrian security forces and allied militias who claim to be battling remnants of the former government Uli al-Baas argued that Iran was under pressure because it opposed U.S attempts to project global influence and Israel's emboldened posture in the region "As for the constant threat posed to the Islamic Republic of Iran this is because it maintains an independent identity and refuses to submit," Uli al-Baas said "as does Venezuela and other countries that reject American hegemony." "the truth is that Iran is threatening the advanced state in West Asia Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. Newsletters in your inbox See all Israeli planes have struck Syria and the country's prime minister and defence minister said it was a warning to the Syrian regime following clashes in recent days with the minority Druze community south of the city Israel has carried out airstrikes close to the presidential palace in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday night It is the second time in a matter of days that Israeli planes have struck Syria and the country's prime minister and defence minister said it was a warning to the Syrian regime following clashes in recent days with the minority Druze community south of the city "This is a message to the Syrian regime," said Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Katz in a joint statement "We will not allow a movement of forces south of Damascus and any danger to the Druze community." Israel has not revealed exactly what it targeted with the Syrian presidency claiming the strikes "target Syrian unity" "The authorities will work on preventing any threats to our country's security," the presidency said in a statement Clashes have erupted between regime forces and Druze militants in Syria over the past few days underscoring the fragility of the relatively new governing regime in Damascus an agreement announced on Thursday night between some Druze leaders and the regime is giving hope that some calm can be restored and senior members of the Syrian Druze community have expressed a willingness to cooperate with the Syrian regime something they had previously been reluctant to do Israel's foreign minister called on the international community to protect the minority Druze in Syria on Thursday and roads were blocked in northern Israel by Druze protesters calling on the Israeli government to intervene The Druze are a small secretive sect with connections to Islam with groups in Lebanon It's because of this link with Israel that the country's government says it has reason to intervene but there have been repeated outbreaks of sectarian violence threatening the country's stability and calling into question whether the new government is inclusive Israel has carried out almost 800 strikes in Syria and hundreds of ground incursions since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December and Israel Defence Forces troops remain in a new 'buffer-zone' extending out from the occupied Golan Heights Israel has repeatedly offered to protect the Druze community in Syria many of whom live in villages close to the Israeli border two Druze members were evacuated to Israel for medical treatment the Druze in Israel have shed blood alongside the Jewish majority and formed a brotherly covenant But now that their actual brothers in Syria are being killed At least 600 Syrian Druze from Sahnaya and Jaramana in the outskirts of Damascus have fled to the town of Hader and its surrounding villages in southern Syria i24NEWS learned on Sunday, in light of escalating violence against the local Druze community is currently under IDF control as part of the Israeli military presence in southwest Syria since the fall of the Assad regime The source said there is much disappointment at the current Israeli response to the violence against Syrian Druze which was committed by elements affiliated with the new Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.  Escalating violence in Syria threatens Druze communityDespite Israel facilitating the provision of basic supplies and aid to Druze communities in Syria they expect to see Israel do more to stop the violence against the Druze We feel abandoned by the Israeli government," the source said.  "We want to see Israel send President al-Sharaa a direct message no such message has been sent from Israel." By subscribing I accept the terms of use and privacy policy Israel Is Marching Toward an EscalationAfter nearly 50 days of fighting with no hostages freed the IDF is calling up tens of thousands of reservists for a broader ground offensive in Gaza Israel is intensifying strikes in Syria as Druze communities face attacks from regime-aligned jihadi groups 2025 6:00 am IDTGet email notification for articles from Amos Harel FollowMay 4 reports of Israel's preparations for a military attack on Iran's nuclear sites crop up in international media outlets The more progress is made in negotiations between Iran and the U.S. the more veiled threats are heard regarding Israel's intentions to be pursued even without a green light from U.S which Israel claims are in defense of Syria's Druze community have divided the Israeli Druze – many of whom now question whether this policy serves their interests or broader agendas 2025 9:03 pm IDTGet email notification for articles from Jack Khoury FollowMay 3 2025 9:03 pm IDTReports of vicious terror attacks against Druze communities in Syria – in the suburbs of Damascus and the villages of Jaramana and Sahnaya – have sparked a wave of demonstrations by Druze living in Israel stands next to Syrian security forces who reached a deal with Druze gunmen to deploy around the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana that has witnessed fighting earlier this week in Damascus The situation between the two sides has been tense for weeks and a smaller clash broke out in March in a suburb of Damascus Here are the main reasons the clashes expanded in recent days and background on the two sides: The transitional government has promised to include the Druze but has so far kept authority in the hands of the Islamist former insurgents who toppled Assad in December — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham religious freedom was guaranteed as the country then boasted about its secular and Arab nationalist system The Druze have been slightly divided over how to deal with their issues with the new status quo in the country Most Druze support a dialogue with the government while others support a more confrontational approach so the reactions have differed while they are all concerned about the safety of their people Syria’s religious and ethnic communities are worried about their place in Syria’s new system that is mostly run by Islamists including some who have links to extremist groups The Assad family rule that was dominated by members of the Alawite sect had oppressed much of the country’s Sunni majority while giving minorities some powers the largest Islamic group in the country decades ago The Druze have major concerns about Muslim groups since they came under attack by members of the Islamic State group in 2018 in the southern Sweida province It left dozens killed or wounded and more than two dozen people were taken hostage for nearly four months Muslim extremists consider the Druze heretics The clashes broke out around midnight Monday in the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticizing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric But cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio The fighting later spread to the outskirts of the southern town of Sakhnaya triggering the first Israeli airstrike against pro-government gunmen have vowed to protect the Druze of Syria and warned Islamic groups form entering predominantly Druze areas Other sporadic attacks in different areas as well as an ambush on the Damascus-Sweida highway made the situation worse until a deal was reached early Friday after which Interior Ministry forces and local Druze gunmen deployed in different areas The Britain-based war monitor The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 99 people were killed over the past four days of which 51 were killed in Sakhnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana Among them were local gunmen and security forces Security forces deployed in the coastal province of Latakia and Tartus but activists say that sectarian killings against Alawites are still taking place albeit at a much slower pace when compared to the early March attacks Members of religious minorities in Syria such as Alawites Christians and Druze fear persecution by the main Sunni Muslim groups Videos have circulated on social media showing Islamist fighters insulting Druze detainees and humiliating them such as shaving their mustaches Associated Press writer Ibrahim Hazboun contributed to this report from Jerusalem '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - 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Iranian sources claim the missile is equipped with an “advanced thermal guidance system,” which enhances its accuracy and provides it.. According to Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen the Yemeni terrorist organization is continuing to develop new types of missiles and UAVs despite.. Analysis  Archaeology Blogpost Business & Finance Culture Exclusive Explainer Environment Features Health In Brief Jewish World Judea and Samaria Lifestyle Cyber & Internet Sports Diplomacy  Iran & The Gulf Gaza Strip Politics Shopping Terms of use Privacy Policy Submissions Contact Us The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30 Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better more balanced and more accurate journalism [contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”] and could have political and social ramifications for the community 2025 6:55 am IDTGet email notification for articles from Zvi Bar'el FollowMay 4 2025 6:55 am IDT"Sweida was and will be an inseparable part of a united Syria; belonging to the homeland is an honor for us," said a joint statement published on Friday by Druze leaders in Syria's Sweida district the signatories rejected the idea of "dividing" or "splitting off" from Syria terms that reflect ambitions for establishing an independent Druze district Unless Syria spirals further into crisis, and recent developments suggest the situation is deteriorating, two close friends Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Pastor Johnnie Moore are expected to visit the war-torn nation within weeks. Syria has been under Islamic rule since the fall of the Assad regime last year the two share a close working relationship and common goals Neither currently holds an official role on behalf of the US government Moore is part of President Donald Trump's close circle and Cooper previously served as chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom Their trip to Syria is contingent upon Trump's personal approval There was no kumbaya moment," Cooper said in a phone call from Los Angeles describing their recent meeting in New York with Syria's Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani This is not the first time Moore and Cooper have undertaken such a diplomatic endeavor A similar visit to Bahrain over a decade ago contributed to the eventual Abraham Accords the duo has crafted a set of parameters to guide their engagements They evaluate each country based on the answers and which then inform their recommendations for how the US should proceed Shibani promptly invited the two to visit Damascus It was clear he had done his homework," Cooper said The 45-minute discussion took place with the help of an interpreter although the Syrian foreign minister is proficient in English Among the topics raised was a proposed humanitarian project to be operated in Syria with the support of several countries This initiative was just one of 10 to 15 issues presented during the meeting "We're concerned with the status of minorities and non-Muslim religious groups," said Cooper the future of Syrian-Israeli relations also came up the foreign minister understands that "Syria cannot be rebuilt without the United States His vision is to unify and rehabilitate the country but that can only happen if international sanctions are lifted any normalization of ties between the new Syrian regime and Israel is a prerequisite "The Syrian leadership understands the immense challenges ahead in achieving their vision of reconstruction," said Cooper "But we also need to remember what happened with the Taliban they promised to uphold minority rights and education for girls but we need to see if and how it can be implemented