Druze, Syria and Sweida
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The National on MSNBodies in the streets: Druze caught in Sweida violence reveal horrific days of bloodshedRamzi has witnessed horrors throughout his career as a doctor during Syria’s 13-year civil war. But few compare, he said, to the scenes he witnessed this week at the main hospital in Sweida, a Druze-majority town where bloody sectarian violence raged for days.
In Syria's Druze city of Sweida, sectarian violence has led to numerous deaths, with government forces clashing with Druze militia. The violence worsened after the government's arrival, deepening distrust of the Islamist-led government in Damascus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the success of his "peace through strength" stance against Syria in the wake of Druze violence.
Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives never seen before.
Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.
Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community.