10 Killed in South Syria Clashes

An SDF fighter near the al-Hol camp. (AFP)
An SDF fighter near the al-Hol camp. (AFP)
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10 Killed in South Syria Clashes

An SDF fighter near the al-Hol camp. (AFP)
An SDF fighter near the al-Hol camp. (AFP)

Gunmen supporting Syria's government and others opposed to Damascus clashed in the southern Syrian province of Sweida Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, a war monitor said.

Six loyalists and four people against the regime lost their lives after the fighting erupted in two villages in the Druze-majority province, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

Tensions had been rising since Monday, after the abduction of two people critical of the Damascus government, AFP said.

The Druze, who made up less than three percent of Syria's pre-war population, have largely kept out of the country's civil war since it started in 2011.

Sweida has been spared most of the fighting, though local forces had to repel limited rebel attacks in 2013 and 2015, and an extremist rampage in 2018 killed more than 250 people.

Government institutions and security forces are present in the province, while Syrian troops are deployed not far from its provincial borders.



Schools Closed in Beirut after Deadly Israeli Strike

Firefighters douse flames at the site of an Israeli strike on a building in the Lebanese capital - AFP
Firefighters douse flames at the site of an Israeli strike on a building in the Lebanese capital - AFP
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Schools Closed in Beirut after Deadly Israeli Strike

Firefighters douse flames at the site of an Israeli strike on a building in the Lebanese capital - AFP
Firefighters douse flames at the site of an Israeli strike on a building in the Lebanese capital - AFP

Schools in Beirut were closed on Monday after Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital killed six people including Hezbollah's spokesman, the latest in a string of top militant targets slain in the war.

Israel escalated its bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds in late September, vowing to secure its northern border with Lebanon to allow Israelis displaced by cross-border fire to return home.

Sunday's strikes hit densely populated districts of central Beirut that had so far been spared the violence engulfing other areas of Lebanon.

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The strikes prompted the education ministry to shut schools and higher education institutions in the Beirut area for two days.

Children and young people around Lebanon have been heavily impacted by the war, which has seen schools around the country turned into shelters for the displaced.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,480 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel says 48 soldiers have been killed fighting Hezbollah, AFP reported.

Another strike hit a busy shopping district of Beirut, sparking a huge blaze that engulfed part of a building and several shops nearby.

Lebanon's National News Agency said the fire had largely been extinguished by Monday morning, noting it had caused diesel fuel tanks to explode.

"In a quarter of an hour our whole life's work was lost," said Shukri Fuad, who owned a shop destroyed in the strike.

Ayman Darwish worked at an electronics shop that was hit.

"Everyone knows us, everyone knows this area is a civilian area, no one is armed here," he said.

One of those killed in the strike, Darwish said, was the son of the owner of the store where he worked.

"The martyr Mahmud used to come after working hours, in the evenings and even on Sundays, to deal with client requests," he said.

The NNA reported new strikes early Monday on locations around south Lebanon, long a stronghold of Hezbollah.