Civil war in neighbouring Syria is tearing apart the once tight-knit Druse community on the Golan Heights. Angry arguments between supporters and foes of Syrian President Bashar Assad have pitted husbands against wives, driven a wedge between neighbours and even threated to ruin an upcoming wedding.
The two camps scrawl tit-for-tat graffiti on walls and run rival news web sites. At a brawl last month, regime supporters pelted their rivals with eggs, shoes and rocks, prompting religious leaders to declare a ban on political demonstrations in the Golan’s four Druse villages.
‘We shout at each other, when before, we used to say hello,’ lamented Assad supporter Ghandi Kahlouni, a 53-year-old pharmacist.
The growing divisions between those backing Assad and those sympathising with Syrian rebels are surprising, considering the tight weave of the 22,000-strong Druse community on the Golan, a fenced-off plateau Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Since the capture by Israel, most of the Golan Druse, followers of a secretive offshoot of Islam, have continued to identify themselves as Syrian, even though many have never been to Syria, and in public at least they all backed Assad’s regime as their one-day savior from Israeli rule.
However, some began questioning the Syrian dictator’s actions as the regime violently cracked down on opponents.
Activists estimate some 20,000 people have been killed in the past 18 months of fighting that has descended into civil war.
Others support the regime, fearing for the future of their sect in a rebellion lead by orthodox Muslims and worried Syria will collapse into chaos.
It’s not clear how many residents now support the rebels, but backing for Assad has clearly eroded. Even some of the most fervent regime supporters are critical of Assad’s rule.
Last month, simmering tensions erupted into violence.
It began when several dozen rebel supporters demonstrated in Majdal Shams, the largest Druse village on the Golan.
Kahlouni, the pharmacist, said demonstrators hurled insults at the Syrian leader. Regime supporters struck back with eggs, rocks and shoes, said Mayada Abu Jabal, a 39-year-old physiotherapist.
Following the brawl, Druse leaders threatened to banish anyone showing public support for either side, fearing more serious violence, said Majdal Shams Mayor Dolan Abu Saleh.
Religious authorities wouldn’t comment. The mayor said two people were briefly expelled. The divisions even threaten to disrupt an upcoming wedding in Majdal Shams later this month.
Some 2,000 people are expected to attend, but members of the Abu Jabal clan fear the bride’s father may refuse to come.
15 SYRIANS DIE IN TURKISH HOSPITALS AFTER AIR STRIKE
About 15 Syrians have died in Turkish hospitals of their wounds from an air strike after 100 were sent across the border for treatment following the attack, a Turkish official said on Thursday.
Many of those injured suffered severe burns in yesterday’s air strike by a Syrian air force MiG fighter jet in the town of Aazaz near Aleppo, which killed more than 30 people instantly and left more than 200 injured. Many of the wounded were taken across the border to hospitals in Turkey’s southeastern city of Kilis, around 20 kilometres away, the Turkish official told AFP.
Some 15 of them succumbed to their wounds in hospital, the source said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that 31 people were killed in the aerial attack, the latest atrocity blamed on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and that the toll was expected to rise. The number of Syrians crossing into Turkey has dramatically increased since the Syrian army ramped up its offensive against rebels in cities close to the Turkish border, particularly around Aleppo. Turkey is sheltering around 62,000 refugees in camps in the south of the country and also providing sanctuary to Syrian military defectors in a separate camp near the border, where security is tighter.
The two camps scrawl tit-for-tat graffiti on walls and run rival news web sites. At a brawl last month, regime supporters pelted their rivals with eggs, shoes and rocks, prompting religious leaders to declare a ban on political demonstrations in the Golan’s four Druse villages.
‘We shout at each other, when before, we used to say hello,’ lamented Assad supporter Ghandi Kahlouni, a 53-year-old pharmacist.
The growing divisions between those backing Assad and those sympathising with Syrian rebels are surprising, considering the tight weave of the 22,000-strong Druse community on the Golan, a fenced-off plateau Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Since the capture by Israel, most of the Golan Druse, followers of a secretive offshoot of Islam, have continued to identify themselves as Syrian, even though many have never been to Syria, and in public at least they all backed Assad’s regime as their one-day savior from Israeli rule.
However, some began questioning the Syrian dictator’s actions as the regime violently cracked down on opponents.
Activists estimate some 20,000 people have been killed in the past 18 months of fighting that has descended into civil war.
Others support the regime, fearing for the future of their sect in a rebellion lead by orthodox Muslims and worried Syria will collapse into chaos.
It’s not clear how many residents now support the rebels, but backing for Assad has clearly eroded. Even some of the most fervent regime supporters are critical of Assad’s rule.
Last month, simmering tensions erupted into violence.
It began when several dozen rebel supporters demonstrated in Majdal Shams, the largest Druse village on the Golan.
Kahlouni, the pharmacist, said demonstrators hurled insults at the Syrian leader. Regime supporters struck back with eggs, rocks and shoes, said Mayada Abu Jabal, a 39-year-old physiotherapist.
Following the brawl, Druse leaders threatened to banish anyone showing public support for either side, fearing more serious violence, said Majdal Shams Mayor Dolan Abu Saleh.
Religious authorities wouldn’t comment. The mayor said two people were briefly expelled. The divisions even threaten to disrupt an upcoming wedding in Majdal Shams later this month.
Some 2,000 people are expected to attend, but members of the Abu Jabal clan fear the bride’s father may refuse to come.
15 SYRIANS DIE IN TURKISH HOSPITALS AFTER AIR STRIKE
About 15 Syrians have died in Turkish hospitals of their wounds from an air strike after 100 were sent across the border for treatment following the attack, a Turkish official said on Thursday.
Many of those injured suffered severe burns in yesterday’s air strike by a Syrian air force MiG fighter jet in the town of Aazaz near Aleppo, which killed more than 30 people instantly and left more than 200 injured. Many of the wounded were taken across the border to hospitals in Turkey’s southeastern city of Kilis, around 20 kilometres away, the Turkish official told AFP.
Some 15 of them succumbed to their wounds in hospital, the source said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that 31 people were killed in the aerial attack, the latest atrocity blamed on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and that the toll was expected to rise. The number of Syrians crossing into Turkey has dramatically increased since the Syrian army ramped up its offensive against rebels in cities close to the Turkish border, particularly around Aleppo. Turkey is sheltering around 62,000 refugees in camps in the south of the country and also providing sanctuary to Syrian military defectors in a separate camp near the border, where security is tighter.