Syria's sectarian mix a dilemma for new rulers

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's hopes of stitching Syria back together under the rule of his Islamist-led government are complicated by the country's mix of sectarian and ethnic groups. Syria is majority Sunni Muslim, and its religious...

Syria's interim gov't announces new ceasefire deal with Druze community in Sweida

DAMASCUS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A new ceasefire agreement was reached on Wednesday between the Syrian interim government and Druze community in the southern province of Sweida, aiming to end days of deadly clashes and reintegrate the province under...

Syria announces ceasefire agreement, security measures in As-Suwayda

Damascus: The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced Wednesday a new ceasefire agreement in As-Suwayda Governorate, aimed at restoring stability and fully reintegrating the province into the Syrian state. According to the ministry’s statement, the...

Syria releases details of Sweida ceasefire

Syria's interior ministry has released details of the ceasefire deal in Sweida, carried by Syria's state media agency Sana. The truce will involve an immediate cessation of all military operations and a commitment by all parties to de-escalate the...

Syria-Israel conflict: Tel Aviv unleashes fury! Damascus Army HQ bombed after Druze ultimatum!

Israel’s Army said it struck a “military target” in the area of Syria’s presidential palace in Damascus on Wednesday (July 16, 2025), after earlier announcing it had hit the military headquarters in the capital. The Israeli military “continues to...

Syria, UN condemn Israeli attacks on army HQ in ‘strongest terms’

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Israeli attacks on Damascus and Sweida come as part of “a systematic Israeli policy to ignite tension and chaos and undermine security in Syria”. “The attack is part of the Israeli aggression...

Syria stresses right to respond to Israeli aggression

Hours after the Israeli regime's military conducted airstrikes on Syrian regime military assets that had entered the Druze-majority province of Sweida, Syria’s Foreign Ministry issued a sharp condemnation: “Israel bears full responsibility for the...

Syria, Druze leaders announce new ceasefire after deadly clashes

The Syrian government and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that drew in Israel. The announcement came shortly after Israel launched air attacks on the Syrian Defense Ministry and...

Syria's Kurds watch Druze massacre with alarm

IDF strikes Syrian regime forces (Video: IDF) The Kurdish minority, concentrated in Syria’s northeast, is closely watching the unfolding events in Sweida with growing concern. The escalating fighting with the Druze has revived fears about their...

Syria's Druze reach new ceasefire deal with government in Sweida, religious leader says

(Reuters) -Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday. An earlier...

Syria's Druze reach new ceasefire deal with government in Sweida

Trump admin. voices alarm as Israel strikes Syrian capital Damascus

Damascus, Syria — The Israeli military launched a rare airstrike in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters and drawing a call from the Trump administration for "the fighting to stop" as clashes in the...

One dead and 18 wounded in Israeli air strikes on Syria army HQ in Damascus

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people....

Israel targets Syria’s defence ministry in Damascus, as fighting rages in south

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM - Powerful airstrikes shook Damascus on July 16, targeting the defence ministry as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze communities in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw. Reuters reporters...

Israel strikes Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus seeking withdrawal from south

Damascus / Jerusalem – Israel launched powerful airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday, blowing up part of Syria's Defense Ministry and hitting near the presidential palace, as it vowed to destroy government forces it said were attacking Druze...

Israel Strikes At The Heart Of Syria’s Military Command In Dramatic Escalation

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Israeli Air Force jets bombed the Syrian defense ministry and presidential palace in Damascus on Wednesday. The...

Israel intensifies airstrikes on Syria to deter attacks on Druze

A Syrian military headquarters in Damascus moments before it was hit by an Israeli airstrike. (Israel Defense Forces) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted strikes near the Syrian Presidential Palace and targeting the Syrian government’s...

Border chaos as 1,000 Druze breach frontier into Syria; heavy IDF strikes hit Damascus

Israel’s border with Syria turned to chaos on Wednesday, with around 1,000 Druze residents of Israel breaching the frontier and dozens of Syrian Druze trying to cross in the other direction, as the toll from the deadly violence in the southern...

Israel Bombs Damascus, Warns Syria of Painful Blows

Israel launched a series of airstrikes on central Damascus early Wednesday, targeting what it called key Syrian military infrastructure, including the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters and a facility near the presidential palace. The attack...

Sectarian tension, Israeli intervention: What led to the violence in Syria?

What started as intercommunal violence in southern Syria between local Druze and Bedouin communities over the weekend escalated on Wednesday into Israel bombing Syria’s Ministry of Defence and other targets in the capital Damascus. At least three...