At least 11 people, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed following a fresh outbreak of violence in the Damascus suburb of Sahnaya, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported on Wednesday.
The unrest, which began late Tuesday, saw armed groups launching coordinated attacks on both public and civilian vehicles, as well as targeting a security checkpoint in Sahnaya, located south of the capital.
Witnesses described the sound of machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades echoing through residential areas, damaging homes and vehicles and plunging the city into fear. “People are terrified. The streets are empty and we’re all sheltering inside,” one resident told dpa.
Security forces responded by advancing into central Sahnaya under heavy gunfire, aiming to secure Druze-dominated neighbourhoods, sources added.
The violence in Sahnaya follows deadly clashes just a day earlier in Jaramana, another suburb of Damascus, where sectarian tensions erupted after the circulation of an audio recording allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 17 people were killed in the Jaramana incident.
The controversial recording, attributed to a member of the Druze community, has been dismissed as fabricated by Druze leaders in Jaramana, who warned it was intended to incite sectarian strife. Syria’s Interior Ministry said investigations are ongoing to identify the speaker in the recording.
These incidents come amid a fragile transition period following the December overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad. The country’s new Islamist-led government has pledged national unity and inclusion, yet sporadic outbreaks of deadly violence continue to threaten stability.
In March, fierce fighting broke out in Syria’s western coastal region between the new security forces and remnants of Assad loyalists, underlining the ongoing volatility in the post-Assad era.
