Damascus (EFE).- Syrian security forces deployed in the town of Jaramana on Sunday, outside Damascus, after clashes with armed members of the Druze minority on Friday left a security officer dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The head of the security directorate in Rif Dimashq province, Lieutenant Colonel Hussam Al-Tahhan, said in statements to the official Syrian news agency SANA that security forces “began to deploy inside Jaramana” following the killing of the official, identified as Ahmed al-Khatib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that those responsible for the attack “refused to surrender,” so Syrian troops were working to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Our forces will work to put an end to the state of chaos and the illegal barricades set up by illegal groups that have carried out kidnappings, assassination, and violent attacks with weapons,” said al-Tahhan, who denounced these groups “refused” to participate in mediation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, he said that “no geographical area in Syria will remain outside government control” and that “the population of the city of Jaramana has shown great cooperation in this regard.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday evening, members of the Ministry of Defense entered the town of Jaramana to visit their families when they were intercepted at a checkpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the surrender of their weapons, they were reportedly assaulted before their vehicle came under direct fire, resulting in the killing of a security officer and the injury of another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This clash followed an attack on the town’s police station, where its personnel were driven out amid insults and the theft of their weapons, SANA reported at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After these incidents, the Israeli defense ministry on Saturday ordered the army to prepare to “defend” the Druze community of Jaramana, claiming it was under attack by “Syrian regime forces.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Israeli authorities have already warned that they plan to maintain positions in the demilitarized zone of the Syrian Golan Heights, close to the border with Israel, indefinitely to ensure the safety of communities in the north of the country, including Druze Arabs living in this area of Syria, occupied by Israeli forces after the 1967 war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went so far as to call last week for the “complete demilitarization” of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Deraa, and Suwayda (Druze communities in the area). EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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