The Syrian War The Fall of the Assad Regime

First Fighting Between the Government and Jihadists

For the first time since the regime change, Syrian government forces have found themselves in armed conflict with jihadists, AFP reports.

The soldiers have surrounded a camp near the Turkish border where a Franco-Senegalese jihadist leader, 50-year-old Omar Omsen, is staying. He is wanted by French authorities.

Since taking power, Syria's new government has tried to distance itself from its Islamist past in order to make itself more acceptable to ordinary Syrians and countries around the world.

Violence against civilians rages under Syria's new government

When Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, Syrians welcomed the regime change with cautious optimism, but ten months later, violence against civilians rages almost unchecked, the New York Times reports.

The newspaper has spoken to dozens of witnesses and analyzed hundreds of video clips, and paints a picture of the brutal violence of the government and regime-loyal forces against minorities, especially the Druze.

The violence, centered in the southern province of Sweida, has so far claimed the lives of 2,000 people. The vast majority are Druze, whose highest spiritual leader now advocates for the region to gain independence from Syria.

The new president Ahmed al-Sharaa's control over parts of the country is now threatened in the wake of the violence. Among other things, the Kurdish minority in the northeastern part of the country has put negotiations with the government on hold.