State Media Reports Syrian Forces Deployed Near Damascus After Violence Flares
Israel has announced plans to protect the Druze community in southern Syria.
Syria’s transitional regime has deployed security forces to the city of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, as reported by the country’s official SANA news agency on March 3.
The deployment follows the killing of a defense ministry official, Ahmad al-Khatib, who was shot by unidentified gunmen near Jaramana, according to SANA.
Lt.-Col. Hussam Tahhan, a local security official, stated that the forces in the area are working to apprehend those responsible for the killing and bring them to justice, as quoted by SANA.
Tahhan mentioned that armed individuals outside state authority rejected mediations and agreements and that security forces aim to end the chaos caused by outlaw groups engaging in illegal activities.
Jaramana, located approximately two miles southeast of Damascus, has a population mainly consisting of the Druze and Christians.
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“No Syrian geographical area will remain outside the control of state institutions,” Tahhan stated as per SANA.
He also noted a significant cooperation from the residents of Jaramana in this regard.
Following a rebel offensive backed by Turkey in December 2024, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted, and the Syrian national army disbanded.
The offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated terrorist group, whose leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, is now serving as Syria’s interim leader.
On March 3, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that calm had been restored in Jaramana after talks between local community leaders and Syria’s interior ministry officials.
Anadolu reported that the unrest began on Feb. 28 when al-Khatib, an official of Syria’s HTS-led defense ministry, was killed at a checkpoint by unidentified gunmen.
The agency also mentioned a police station near Jaramana being attacked, as reported by Musab al-Shami, a local security official.
Al-Shami noted that the crisis was resolved through consultations between security officials and local community leaders.
“Our cooperation with the people of Jaramana will strengthen in the coming days,” he added.
Israeli army humvees move into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, located in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, on Dec. 21, 2024. Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
Ambiguous Circumstances
Circumstances surrounding the recent unrest remain unclear.
On March 1, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported several incidents of security disorder in and around Jaramana, leading to deaths and injuries.
SOHR stated that these actions prompted the general security service to launch a large-scale security campaign in the city.
Gunmen reportedly clashed with armed members of the local Druze community in Jaramana, resulting in casualties, according to SOHR.
Additionally, unidentified gunmen were said to have attacked a civilian vehicle in the area, injuring two Druze community members.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered Israel’s military to prepare to defend Syria’s Druze community, stating that Jaramana was under attack by the Syrian regime, as reported by The Times of Israel.
“If the regime harms the Druze, it will be struck by us,” Katz’s office stated, emphasizing that Israel would not allow harm to the Druze community.
Jaramana is situated about 35 miles from Israel’s border.
Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli forces entered Syrian territory in the Golan Heights, home to a significant Druze community in Syria.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Syrian forces would not be permitted to enter the area south of Damascus and affirmed that Israeli forces in Syrian territory would remain indefinitely.
