DAMASCUS – Six people, including two members of the Syrian security forces, were killed on Tuesday in clashes involving members of the Druze community in the Jaramana area, east of the capital Damascus, according to local media reports and a war monitor.
Sham FM radio, citing a security source, reported that security forces were not directly involved in the clashes but had attempted to prevent further escalation between armed groups. Two security personnel were killed during the intervention, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that four people from the Druze community were killed and six others injured as a result of security forces’ shelling and the use of light and medium weapons in residential areas.
The clashes reportedly followed the circulation of an audio recording attributed to a Druze individual, which contained remarks deemed religiously offensive. The incident sparked tension and provoked sectarian reactions in several parts of the country, the observatory said.
In early March, an outbreak of unrest between security forces and local gunmen in Jaramana resulted in one person killed and five others injured, according to local media reports.
XINHUA