#sweida

#syria: An Israeli Hand into the Southern Front?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/23507

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The latest battles on the southern front in Syria fall within the context of the escalation with #Israel in the occupied Syrian #Golan_Heights and southern Lebanon. Although coordination between Israel and armed opposition groups preceded the attack in #Quneitra, the surge in fighters along the #Daraa, Quneitra and Zabadani fronts suggests, according to some, a clear Israeli message — namely, that they are able to engage on more than one front.

#Al-Nusra_Front #Articles #Beirut-Damascus_road #FSA #ISIS #Kobane #Sweida #Syrian_army #Syrian_rebels #Mideast_&_North_Africa

#syria's #Druze reject autonomous statelet despite growing #ISIS threats
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrias-druze-reject-autonomous-statelet-despite-growing-isis-thre

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Sheikh Hikmat Hajari, a top Druze cleric, sits in his home in the southern city of #Sweida on January 23, 2013. (Photo: AFP-Anwar Amro) Sheikh Hikmat Hajari, a top Druze cleric, sits in his home in the southern city of Sweida on January 23, 2013. (Photo: AFP-Anwar Amro)

The Druze community is observing the new developments in the region with great unease. The declaration of an #Islamic_caliphate is enough of a reason for minorities to worry about their future. And as Israeli projects are promoted by Druze collaborators to achieve “the illusion of a Druze statelet,” the Druze in Syria and #Lebanon are committed to their nations and national armies, stressing that “We are not border guards for #Israel, but we are in the heart of (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Articles #Chouf #Hezbollah #Kurds #Mount_Hermon #Rachaya #Walid_Jumblatt

Jordanian air force bombs Syrian opposition vehicles
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/jordanian-air-force-bombs-syrian-opposition-vehicles

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Syrian refugees walks past a makeshift market in the Zaatari refugee camp, a seven-square-kilometre (2.8-square-mile) camp that is home to more than 100,000 refugees. (Photo: AFP-Khalil Mazraawi) Syrian refugees walks past a makeshift market in the Zaatari refugee camp, a seven-square-kilometre (2.8-square-mile) camp that is home to more than 100,000 refugees. (Photo: AFP-Khalil Mazraawi)

#Jordan used its air force for to “protect” its northern borders with #syria. On Wednesday, Jordan announced that its air force attacked military vehicles attempting to infiltrate from Syria. Security sources monitoring Syria’s southern front said the air raid is linked to #Al-Nusra_Front declaring its responsibility for the bombing of the (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Articles #Damascus #Daraa #Nasib #Samir_al-Sheikh #Sweida

#Sweida in the line of fire: History repeating itself
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sweida-line-fire-history-repeating-itself

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Druze sheikhs meet with Walid Jumblatt, political leader of the #Druze community in #Lebanon. (Photo: Bilal Jawish) Druze sheikhs meet with Walid Jumblatt, political leader of the Druze community in Lebanon. (Photo: Bilal Jawish)

As battles intensify in the south of #syria, the governorate of Sweida is stepping up its efforts to defend its choice of siding with the Syrian state. It will be a costly battle no doubt, but the region historically known as Jabal al-Arab – Mountain of the Arabs – will not accept today what it has stood up against repeatedly in the past century, including in the 1920s and 1950s, which is partition and separation from the Syrian state.

Firas Choufi (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Al-Nusra_Front #Articles #Chemical_Batallion #Daraa #Israel