Syrian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it is probing reports of serious human rights violations by people wearing military uniforms during recent fighting in the city of Sweida. The announcement comes after weeks of lethal sectarian fighting between the Druze community and Syrian Bedouin tribes has put the southern city into turmoil.
More than 300 individuals have been killed in Sweida thus far this month, including during the fierce fights between Druze militias and government troops sent to quash the turmoil. The bloodshed was further fueled after Israel targeted airstrikes on Syrian southern territory and the Syrian Defence Ministry in Damascus, citing the need to defend the Druze a Druze ethnic and religious minority that also has a significant population in Israel.
A ceasefire between Israel and Syria was reached on Friday, brokered with the support of Turkey, Jordan, and other neighboring countries.
Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra indicated that the government would not accept any violation even if it were carried out by someone in the army. A special committee has been established to probe into the allegations and ascertain those who were behind the killings conducted by men in military fatigues.
In a second development, the Interior Ministry also announced the opening of an investigation into reports of field executions by unknown persons in Sweida. Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din Al-Baba referred to the incidents as "serious crimes" and stressed the ministry's efforts to pursue the perpetrators.
In addition, a Syrian fact-finding mission said that 1,426 were killed in March during a surge of violence that included assaults against security forces and retaliatory murders of Alawites. It saw no proof that the top commanders of the military directed the retaliation killings.
This new unrest occurs as Syria itself still wrestles with instability after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad last year. The present leadership, which is made up mostly of ex-anti-Assad rebels, now finds itself increasingly at odds with other minority groups in the southwest.
