Page 17 - AHATA
P. 17
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