Page 17 - AHATA
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A6   WORLD NEWS
                  Wednesday 30 april 2025
            At least 10 dead in Syria after sectarian clashes in Druze suburb of

            Damascus



            By OMAR SANADIKI                                                                                                    where  there  are  tensions,”
            Associated Press                                                                                                    said  Jaramana  resident
            DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — At                                                                                           Abu Tarek Zaaour.
            least 10 people were killed                                                                                         The    Britain-based   Syr-
            on  Tuesday  after  clashes                                                                                         ian Observatory for Human
            broke out in a suburb of the                                                                                        Rights said at least 10 peo-
            Syrian  capital  between  lo-                                                                                       ple were killed, four of them
            cal  gunmen  belonging  to                                                                                          attackers and six Jaramana
            the minority Druze sect and                                                                                         residents.  The  activist  me-
            pro-government  fighters,  a                                                                                        dia  collective  Suwayda24
            war monitor and an activist                                                                                         said  11  people  were  killed
            group said.                                                                                                         and 12 were wounded.
            Syrian Druze gunmen have                                                                                            Rayan  Maarouf,  editor-in-
            clashed  in  recent  weeks                                                                                          chief  of  Suwayda24,  said
            with   government     secu-                                                                                         gunmen  were  holding  the
            rity forces and pro-govern-                                                                                         attacker’s bodies and talks
            ment gunmen in the south-                                                                                           are  on  the  way  to  hand
            ern  Damascus  suburb  of                                                                                           them over.
            Jaramana.                                                                                                           In  late  February,  a  mem-
            Late  Tuesday,  government                                                                                          ber  of  the  security  forces
            representatives  and  Jara-                                                                                         entered  the  suburb  and
            mana  dignitaries  reached                                                                                          started  shooting  in  the  air,
            an  agreement  to  end  the                                                                                         leading to an exchange of
            fighting,  compensate  vic-  Druze gunmen stand next to a checkpoint a day after clashes between members of the minority   fire with local gunmen that
            tims’  families  and  work  on   Druze sect and pro-government fighters left at least four people dead in the southern suburb of   left him dead. A day later,
                                         Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
            bringing perpetrators to jus-                                                                      Associated Press  gunmen  came  from  the
            tice,  according  to  a  copy                                                                                       Damascus  suburb  of  Mlei-
            of  the  deal  circulated  in  Prophet Muhammad.          wants  to  incite  strife  be-  ership  in  Jaramana  con-  ha  to  Jaramana,  where
            Jaramana and seen by The  The  audio  was  attributed  tween  components  of  the  demned  the  audio  but  they  clashed  with  Druze
            Associated Press.            to a Druze cleric. But cleric  Syrian people.”            blasted   the   “unjustified  gunmen leaving one Druze
            It  was  not  immediately  Marwan Kiwan said in a vid-    The Interior Ministry said in a  armed attack” on the sub-  fighter dead and nine oth-
            clear  if  the  truce  will  hold  eo posted on social media  statement it was investigat-  urb.  It  urged  the  state  to  er people wounded.
            for  a  long  time  as  similar  that he was not responsible  ing  the  audio  clip,  adding  publicly  clarify  what  hap-  On  March  1,  Israel’s  De-
            deals in the past collapsed  for  the  audio,  which  an-  that its initial probe showed  pened.  “Why  does  this  fense Ministry said the mili-
            afterward.                   gered many Sunni Muslims.    the  cleric  was  not  respon-  keep   happening   every  tary  was  instructed  to  pre-
            The latest round of fighting  “I  categorically  deny  that  sible.  The  ministry  urged  now  and  then?  It’s  as  if  pare to defend Jaramana,
            broke out around midnight  the  audio  was  made  by  people to abide by the law  there’s no state or govern-       asserting that the minority it
            Monday after an audio clip  me,”  Kiwan  said.  “I  did  and  not  to  act  in  a  way  ment in charge. They need  has vowed to protect was
            circulated on social media  not say that, and whoever  that undermines security.       to establish security check-  “under  attack”  by  Syrian
            of  a  man  criticizing  Islam’s  made it is an evil man who  The  Druze  religious  lead-  points,  especially  in  areas  forces.q


              Mexico’s attorney general says ranch was used for cartel

              training, but no mass graves found



              By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ          no evidence of bodies be-   by the Jalisco New Genera-   10  people  were  arrested,  of shoes, heaps of clothing
              Associated Press            ing burned there, Attorney  tion  Cartel  for  recruitment  two  hostages  were  freed  and what appeared to be
              MEXICO CITY (AP) — A ranch  General  Alejandro  Gertz  and training since 2021.      and a body was found.       human bone fragments.
              in the western Mexican state  Manero said Tuesday.      In March, relatives searching  They described it as a cartel  Eventually, the Jalisco state
              of Jalisco was used for cartel  Gertz  Manero  said  it  was  for missing family members  training site.         prosecutor’s  office  pub-
              recruitment and training, but  “absolutely  proven”  that  inspected  the  ranch  and  The  state  prosecutor’s  of-  lished photos of the shoes
              federal investigators found  the ranch had been used  reported  finding  hundreds  fice went in with a backhoe,  and  other  clothing  items
                                                                      of  pieces  of  clothing  and  dogs and devices to find in-  found at the site on a web
                                                                      numerous bone fragments.  consistencies in the ground,  page where families search-
                                                                      They  alerted  that  it  could  but  then  the  investigation  ing  for  relatives  could  see
                                                                      have been a mass killing site.  inexplicably stalled.    them.
                                                                      Gertz Manero said Tuesday  The search group had gone  Following  the  uproar,  the
                                                                      that besides the initial body  to  the  Izaguirre  ranch  in  federal  government  took
                                                                      found by authorities last Sep-  March  after  receiving  an  over the case.
                                                                      tember, he could not con-    anonymous call.             Gertz Manero said his office
                                                                      firm that there were others.  Inside they went to work with  would make those pieces of
                                                                      The Jalisco Search Warriors  simple tools  picks, shovels  evidence available to those
                                                                      group  visited  the  ranch  in  and metal bars doing the  looking for missing relatives.
                                                                      Teuchitlan, about 37 miles  work  that  state  investiga-  He  said  the  state  Human
                                                                      (60  kilometers)  from  Gua-  tors supposedly had done  Rights Commission had for-
                                                                      dalajara that was originally  six months earlier.        mally told local authorities
              Police stand guard outside the entrance of the Izaguirre Ranch
              where skeletal remains were discovered in Teuchitlan, Jalisco   found  by  National  Guard  What  they  found  embar-  about  the  ranch  in  2021,
              state, Mexico, March 13, 2025.                          troops last September.       rassed  state  authorities  but nothing was apparently
                                                     Associated Press  At that time, authorities said  and shook Mexico: dozens  done. q
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