By Brittani Howell
Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria – Violence erupted on Saturday in a Southern Syrian province, in response to a double-car bombing that occurred Friday. The car-bombing killed 28 people, including Druze cleric Sheikh Wahid al-Balous.
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Druze cleric Sheikh Wahid al-Balous led the group Sheikhs of Dignity. The Sheikhs of Dignity called the re-election of President Bashar al-Assad a “void election”. Two weak and relatively unknown candidates ran against the President during the elections held in July 2014. In addition, rebel-held territories were not allowed to vote.
The group also protested the lack of adequate water and electricity. Sheikh Wahid al-Balous was a critic of President Bashar al-Assad and urged the youth of Sweida to refuse military service. A movement in the Druze community urges the youth to serve in the local National Defense forces, a pro-government military to defend Sweida.
The two explosions occurred in and around the city of Sweida. One bomb hit Sheikh Wahid al-Balous’s convoy. The second bomb struck the hospital where the victims of the first explosion were taken. As a result, 28 people were killed.
Nine more individuals were killed during the riots outside government building of Swedia. Six security personnel were killed by Druze gunman.
The statute of former President Hafez al-Assad was destroyed by protestors. Walid Jumblatt, Druze political leader in Lebanon, told Syrian Orient TV, “It is time for the honorable citizens [of Sweida] to rise up in the face of the Syrian regime that wants repression and to spread sedition”.
The Syrian Government blamed “terrorists” for the explosions. Syria’s state new media neglected to report the cleric’s death as well as the deaths of the security forces.
The Druze sect is an off shoot of Shi’ite Islam and is related to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The Druze faith is practiced by 1.5 million people, mostly residing in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.
For more information, please see:
Reuters – Druze Gunman Kill Six Syrian Security Personnel After Bomb Blasts Kill Dozens – 5 September 2015
The New York Times – Unrests Mounts in Southern Syria After Druse Cleric Dies in Blast – 5 September 2015
The Wall Street Journal – Violence Erupts in Syrian City After Druse Cleric Killed – 5 September 2015
The World Post – Syrian Druze City Turns on Assad After Top Cleric Killed by Car Bomb – 5 September 2015