Israel bombs Syria army HQ after warning Damascus

Israeli Minister Katz called on Damascus to ‘leave the Druze in Sweida alone,’ later threatening in a statement to unleash “painful blows” to ‘eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze’

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Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.

Syrian government forces on Tuesday entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida, in the country's south, with the stated aim of overseeing a ceasefire agreed with Druze community leaders after clashes with local Bedouin tribes left dozens dead.

However, witnesses reported that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city.

The fighting marks the most serious outbreak of violence in Syria since government forces battled Druze fighters in Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May leaving more than 100 people dead.

The authorities have had strained relations with Syria's patchwork of religious and ethnic minorities since they toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December.

Israel has presented itself as a defender of the Druze, although some analysts say that is a pretext for pursuing its own military goal of keeping Syrian government forces as far from the border as possible.