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Israeli Drone Monitoring Events Amid Clashes Between Druze Factions and Syrian Defense Ministry Forces
Local and media sources in the city of Jaramana in rural Damascus reported that a drone, believed to be Israeli, began flying over the predominantly Druze city.
These sources indicated that the Israeli drone, of the "Hermes 450" model, arrived about an hour ago, coinciding with the entry of convoys of Syrian security forces into the vicinity of the city. The drone has not conducted any strikes thus far; instead, it continues to film and monitor the events on the ground in the city, which has witnessed intermittent clashes since dawn today between Druze factions and factions affiliated with the Syrian Defense Ministry.
Despite the escalating situation, no response or statement has been issued by Israeli officials regarding the conditions in Jaramana and the Druze areas of Sahnaiah. Israeli officials have, since the arrival of the new Syrian administration, threatened any presence of Syrian forces near Jaramana or any Druze area.
In the context of the crisis, Syrian sources, including Druze spiritual leaders, discussed the existence of a third party behind the audio recording that sparked the crisis, which is believed to have been created using artificial intelligence technology, indicating a potential Israeli role. This recording contained insults directed at the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), leading to violent reactions against Druze students in the university city of Homs, escalating the situation to the city of Sweida and then to Jaramana, resulting in casualties.
In the latest updates on the casualty counts, special sources in Jaramana confirmed to "Erem News" that the number of dead from the city has reached six, with twelve injured, among them civilians with serious injuries, while eighteen dead have been recorded from the attacking groups, along with some captives.
Tensions escalated following reports of convoys from the General Security heading to Jaramana, where Druze factions rejected the entry of forces for fear of clashes. The convoys stopped in the vicinity of the city near "Al-Tabal," where sources close to the General Security reported that their mission is to secure the vital road to Damascus International Airport adjacent to Jaramana.
In the meantime, the Syrian Ministry of Interior issued a second statement regarding the events, indicating that the intermittent clashes witnessed in the Jaramana area were a result of the spread of an audio recording that includes insults to the Prophet Muhammad, which led to incitement and hate speech on social media. These clashes resulted in casualties, including members of the security forces.
Following this, units from the General Security, supported by forces from the Ministry of Defense, were deployed to quell the clashes and protect residents, imposing a security cordon around the area to prevent any future incidents. The statement emphasized the Syrian Interior's commitment to pursuing and holding accountable those involved, with investigations ongoing to uncover the identity of the individual behind the offensive audio recording, stressing there would be no leniency towards anyone contributing to instigating chaos and undermining stability.
