00:00Syria has launched investigations into reported extrajudicial killings in the country's
00:14Druze heartland, promising to punish perpetrators, including any government-affiliated personnel,
00:20after a week of sectarian bloodshed. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Monitor,
00:26the violence which began on 13 July and ended with a weakened ceasefire started with clashes
00:33between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedwin tribes but soon escalated, killing more than 1,300 people,
00:41mostly Druze. Witnesses Druze factions and the Observatory have accused government forces of
00:48siding with the Bedwin and committing abuses, including summary executions, when they entered
00:54SWEDA last week. The Interior Ministry has condemned in the strongest terms the videos circulating
01:01showing field executions carried out by unidentified individuals in SWEDA. For days, brutal videos on
01:09social media have appeared to show the execution of people in civilian clothing. The ministry said
01:15that these acts are serious crimes punishable by law with most severe penalties. Authorities have begun
01:23an urgent investigation to identify those involved and arrest them. The ministry added that nobody is
01:29above the law. According to the Observatory, the dead included 533 Druze fighters and 300 civilians from
01:38the religious minority, 196 of whom were summarily executed by Defence and Interior Ministry personnel.
01:46According to the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria,
01:51the toll also includes 423 government security personnel and 35 Sunni Bedwin, three of them
01:59civilians who were summarily executed by Druze fighters. It added that another 15 government
02:05personnel were killed in Israeli air strikes lodged in support of the Druze. Separately, the Defence
02:11Ministry said that it was looking into reports of shocking and serious violations committed
02:16by an unidentified group wearing military uniform in SWEDA City. A statement said that a committee would
02:23investigate the affiliation and background of the individuals involved. It added that the groups from
02:28other areas were present in SWEDA City and carried out revenge operations there.
02:35Defence Minister Muraf Abu Kasra was quoted as saying,
02:38no tolerance will be shown to any perpetrator of violations, even if they are affiliated with the
02:44Defence Ministry. The announcements came hours after a committee investigating massacres of mostly
02:49alivide civilians in March released its findings, including that it had identified people linked to
02:56certain military groups and factions among those involved in the bloodshed. A ceasefire in SWEDA took effect
03:03on 20 July after Bedwin and tribal fighters withdrew from SWEDA City and Druze groups regained control,
03:10while government forces deployed in parts of the province. The UN said that it was relocating its
03:16staff and their families from the city and that it had handed a new aid shipment to the Syrian Red Crescent
03:23which destined for SWEDA.
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