Syria: Sweida Tensions Rise After Assassination of Armed Faction Leaderhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5041298-syria-sweida-tensions-rise-after-assassination-armed-faction-leader
Syria: Sweida Tensions Rise After Assassination of Armed Faction Leader
Residents of Sweida province in southern Syria were shocked on Wednesday morning by the assassination of Merhej al-Jarmani, leader of the local “Liwa al-Jabal” armed faction.
He was found dead in his home, shot by unknown assailants, triggering widespread anger in the community.
Local media reported that al-Jarmani was killed by a single bullet fired at close range. Details of the killing are still unclear. According to the local news network, al-Jarmani’s wife discovered him dead with a gunshot wound to the head.
Sweida has seen weekly peaceful anti-regime protests that intensified in February when authorities resumed security settlements for those wanted for military service.
Protests in Sweida province, the heartland of the country’s Druze minority, also follow President Bashar Assad’s government ending fuel subsidies last month.
Al-Jarmani, a key figure in these protests and a participant in the “defense of the mountain” battles, reportedly detained dozens of security officers last month after a young woman from Sweida was arrested in Damascus.
Locals credit al-Jarmani with helping to repel extremist groups that have attacked Sweida since 2014 and confronting government-backed groups. A local news outlet reported that no one heard gunshots when al-Jarmani was killed, suggesting a silencer was used.
“Suwayda 24,” the local news network, noted that pro-government supporters had been inciting against al-Jarmani on social media recently.
Al-Jarmani’s death and his Thursday burial in Umm al-Zaytun have shocked the protest movement in Sweida. Protesters have called him the “martyr of dignity” and held vigils in his honor.
Local sources in Sweida told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Jarmani played a significant role in the protests, with his faction protecting the demonstrators.
Although the details of the assassination remain unclear, the protesters suspect “government security agencies” were involved.
The sources warned that if these accusations are confirmed, it could be a dangerous development.
Israeli Military Strikes Beirut Suburbs ahead of Anticipated US-Iran Dealhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5283974-israeli-military-strikes-beirut-suburbs-ahead-anticipated-us-iran-deal
People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut痴 southern suburbs on June 14, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /
Israeli Military Strikes Beirut Suburbs ahead of Anticipated US-Iran Deal
People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut痴 southern suburbs on June 14, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) /
The Israeli military said it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Sunday, potentially complicating efforts to finalize a deal to end the US-Iran war. Smoke rose over the Lebanese capital, and the Civil Defense said it retrieved three bodies and six wounded people from the rubble.
Iran threatened a military response.
The deal in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel's government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7, according to The AP news.
There was no immediate White House comment on Israel’s strikes. US President Donald Trump, who had said the deal could be signed Sunday, has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him.
Netanyahu's office said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by rising smoke. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
“Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. The military later said it was preparing for potential incoming fire in the coming hours.
An Associated Press photographer at the scene in Beirut said a five-story apartment building with shops on the ground floor was struck. The two lowest floors were the most heavily damaged. Residents of the southern suburbs, many of whom had returned home after weeks of relative calm, could be seen fleeing.
“Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” said Gen. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s Joint Command Headquarters, the official Mizan news agency reported.
Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Sunday to finalize the agreement, according to two regional officials.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, expressed cautious optimism that the US and Iran were finally approaching a deal that could halt hostilities that have killed thousands of people and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has thrown world markets into disarray.
Israeli Fire Kills Six in Gaza despite New Effort to Salvage Trucehttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5283971-israeli-fire-kills-six-gaza-despite-new-effort-salvage-truce
A boy reacts during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, March 30, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli Fire Kills Six in Gaza despite New Effort to Salvage Truce
A boy reacts during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, March 30, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, health officials said, as mediators stepped up efforts to salvage the US-brokered ceasefire.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least four people near Al-Yeman Al-Saeed Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp, north of the enclave, while two others were killed in separate shooting incidents in Khan Younis, in the south, and Gaza City.
The violence came as mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, wrapped up week-long talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions on implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, which would involve Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its forces, Reuters reported.
An October 2025 truce brokered by Trump has failed to halt Israeli attacks in Gaza or to secure the disarmament of Hamas militants.
Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 950 people since the truce, health officials say, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in that period.
Hamas blames the absence of a full agreement to end the Gaza conflict on Israel's refusal to fulfill first-phase obligations agreed in October, which halted major fighting but did not end Israeli attacks. Israel says its strikes are intended to thwart imminent attacks by Hamas and other militants.
On Sunday, Hamas and other factions said they had given a written response to a 15-point blueprint presented to them by the mediators and Trump's Board of Peace, but did not provide details of their response.
Sources close to the talks said the factions agreed to 14 out of the 15 items. Disagreement remains over the disarmament of Hamas, which links any full disarmament to launching a political track toward a Palestinian state.
Israel insists Hamas must disarm, cede power in Gaza and play no role in the future of the enclave.
Iraq Accelerates Efforts to Resolve Armed Factions Issue, Complete Government Formationhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5283954-iraq-accelerates-efforts-resolve-armed-factions-issue-complete-government
Iraq Accelerates Efforts to Resolve Armed Factions Issue, Complete Government Formation
A patrol of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (file photo - Popular Mobilization Forces website)
As Baghdad prepares to finalize the proposed agenda for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s visit to the United States, in coordination with Washington, an Iraqi official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the expected visit of US envoy Tom Barrack to Iraq will “determine the final agenda for the visit and its key areas of discussion across different sectors and fields.”
The same source said that “work is underway to prepare all bilateral concerns and issues, whether those already agreed upon and ready to be turned into agreements and memorandums of understanding, or those that remain under discussion, foremost among them the details of disarming the armed factions and the US veto on some armed political groups participating in the government, despite their declared willingness to disarm and hand over their weapons to the state.”
Asked whether Barrack’s visit to Baghdad is intended to discuss the prime minister’s Washington agenda or had already been scheduled, the official source said: “Tom Barrack coordinates relations between Baghdad and Washington and therefore visits Baghdad periodically for that purpose. He also discusses unresolved issues between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which the US administration is keen to see resolved, particularly those related to oil.”
The source added that Barrack’s upcoming visit falls within that framework, as he will also travel to Erbil.
“Accordingly, the remaining unresolved issues, especially oil, will be on the agenda because they are among the issues the Iraqi delegation will take with it to Washington.”
Regarding completion of the cabinet, which still lacks roughly nine ministers, the source said the prime minister is holding talks with political forces to fill the remaining posts, hoping the government lineup will be completed before the Washington visit.
He added that this issue will also be discussed with Barrack in Baghdad, particularly because some ministerial portfolios are expected to go to political groups that won substantial parliamentary representation and therefore qualify for more than one ministry. Resolving the matter requires discussions with the US side to lift its veto after those groups decided to hand over their weapons to the state.
On unresolved issues with the Kurdistan Region, the government source explained that there are two categories of disputes with Erbil.
“One category is longstanding and repeatedly resurfaces. It is related to constitutional matters and is not expected to be resolved, nor is it likely to feature prominently during Barrack’s visit to Baghdad and Erbil. The second category concerns normal political disagreements, including oil exports through the region’s outlets, the region’s share of federal ministries, and disputes between the two main Kurdish parties and their impact on relations with Baghdad.”
Popular Mobilization Forces Chairman Falih Al-Fayyadh (Iraqi Prime Minister's Office)
Meanwhile, Popular Mobilization Forces Chairman Falih Al-Fayyadh on Sunday called on Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ali Al-Zaidi to relocate PMF camps outside urban areas.
Speaking at the official central ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the PMF’s establishment, Al-Fayyadh said the force “stands against sectarianism and has contributed to building a national partnership in which members of all communities and religions fight in the same trench, contrary to claims that it is a sectarian project.”
He stressed that the PMF “represents all Iraqis and has enabled minority groups to defend their own areas.”
Al-Fayyadh called on the government and relevant authorities to “provide suitable alternative camps for the Popular Mobilization Forces, ensuring the completion of their full deployment outside city centers and provincial capitals.”
For his part, Mokhtar Al-Moussawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, said the issue of factional weapons in Iraq is not a matter of a “direct handover” but rather part of broader regional and international calculations. He noted that “the US administration understands the nature of the game just as the armed factions do.”
Al-Moussawi said there is division within the Popular Mobilization Forces structure and that the factions are not united in their positions. Some have expressed readiness to hand over their weapons or sever organizational ties, while others categorically reject such steps.
He added that Iraq’s political landscape is closely linked to regional developments.
“Iraq’s foreign policy remains unstable, and at this particular stage we are seeing a path of understandings between Iran and the United States moving toward an agreement. If such an agreement is signed, there will be an entirely different approach to dealing with the weapons issue in Iraq.”
Al-Moussawi, a lawmaker from the Badr bloc, which is included in the disarmament process, said Iraq does not have full control over the matter and that a large part of the understandings is managed in Washington and Tehran.
He added that factional weapons are directly linked to the outcome of any potential US-Iran agreement. He also stressed that what is currently taking place amounts to temporary political balancing and that the weapons file could be revisited in a different manner after any agreement is signed between the two sides.
Separately, Baghdad has provided security guarantees to Erbil regarding the protection of oil fields in the Kurdistan Region from attacks periodically carried out by armed factions.
According to a political source who disclosed details of a military delegation’s visit to Erbil led by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, the delegation held a series of meetings and field visits to several oil fields to assess security conditions and discuss measures needed to protect facilities and personnel.
The source added that the delegation provided direct security assurances to oil companies operating in the region, affirming that attacks targeting oil sites would not be repeated.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received the delegation. According to an official statement, the delegation chief briefed him on the objectives of the visit, which was undertaken under directives from the federal prime minister to follow up on efforts to maintain security and stability, particularly the protection of oil companies and the prevention of attacks against them.
Barzani expressed his appreciation to Al-Zaidi for his follow-up efforts and assurances regarding the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region, reaffirming the regional government's full support for these steps.
He also renewed his call for stronger cooperation and coordination between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army to address shared security and military challenges and threats.
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