Violence in Syria: eleven deaths in fighting near Damascus in Syria

In Syria, at least eleven people were killed in violent clashes near the capital Damascus, according to the state news agency Sana. Armed groups have taken civilians and public security vehicles since Tuesday evening and attacked a control point in the city of Sahnaja.

Local residents reported considerable damage to houses and cars through machine guns and grenades for the German press agency. Many residents have panicked. The security forces have penetrated the center of Sahna under a heavy shot in order to achieve a quarter with a predominantly Drusian population and to calm the situation.

The fights in Sahnaja follow violent riots in the nearby city of Jharamana. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 17 people have been killed there since Monday evening. The unrest was triggered by a sound recording in which the prophet Mohammed was said to have been insulted. It was initially attributed to a member of the Drusian community. The battles then broke out.

Ministry of the Interior: Search for responsible

Both the Syrian Ministry of the Interior and the Drusian community explained that the accused was not related to the admission. According to its own statements, the Ministry of the Interior is still working on the identification of the person responsible. Representatives of the Drusen in Jharamana said that the recording was fake and should specifically create unrest.

Since the fall of Syria’s long-term power holder Bashar al-Assad, the new leadership in Damascus has set itself the goal of the split country. The Drusen are a religious minority that mostly lives in southern Syria.

Already in March there were bloody denominational struggles in the western coastal region of Syria between government troops of the new rulers and assad-loyal militias. Hundreds of people died.