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K aram Monther's mother placed the ammunition box in the car of her younger son, holding back her tears as he departed in the light of dawn towards the front line . The news came that Islamic State militants were invading homes east of his home province, Sweida, in southern Syria.
Monther joined two dozen other young men who had taken up arms and fought to the edge of the nearby town of Rummy. Fallen fighters lay scattered in the streets – the remains of Isis militants in pieces after they exploded suicide vests.
A woman stumbled on one of the houses, repeating, "They slaughtered them." pointed towards the bathroom.
"I felt in my heart that a crime had occurred there," Monther said. "I opened the door slowly, and I saw a mother who was holding her children, but it seemed that she had not been able to protect them from the Daesh shots." . "
"I will never forget this scene all my life.No words can describe it.The inhabitants of Sweida began burying their dead on Thursday, a day after the worst atrocity of Isis at Over the last few months has cost the lives of nearly 250 people – a toll that can still increase.
The site of suicide bombing in the city of Sweida, Syria Photo: AP
Dozens of people were kidnapped and wounded, many are missing and the mbadacre overthrew the peace of the ancestral homeland of the minority Druze sect, which until now had largely escaped the violence that devastated the country. most of Syria. Residents offered a glimpse of a brutal but well-planned 12-hour attack that appeared to have eluded government security forces – and showed the terror that ISIS may still be sowing despite its repeated defeats on the field. battle and his retirement in Iraq and Syria.
The raids began around 4 am on three simultaneous fronts. Under the guise of darkness, militants infiltrated Druze towns and villages to the east and northeast of Sweida, some using local Bedouins as guides.
Activists knocked on doors – sometimes calling residents by name – and mbadacred families. Meanwhile, they deployed snipers outside the city limits and took entrenched positions in the cities.
In most homes, activists let one survivor testify to their brutality, Monther said. Some of Isis' fighters had tied their legs together in what appeared to be a symbolic statement that they would fight to the death without running away.
When news of the attack spread, young people and local militia took up arms. At the same time, at least four suicide bombers entered the city of Sweida. A bomber blew himself up at the vegetable market, two others in the city center and the fourth blew his jacket into a building after being stuck by residents in the southern part of the city. About 30 people were killed by these badailants. "At first, the attack took us by surprise, but the heroic youth of Sweida quickly rallied to the center of the city and to the villages that Daesh [Isis] had attacked," said Osama Abu Dikar. , writer and journalist in the city. "These local fighters with basic abilities fought real battles against Isis."
He added: "The people of Sweida have fought and fought with one heart, and today the city is gradually recovering, there is a very cautious calm, and we are going to be safe. waits for a new attack. "
The coordinated badault raised questions about the Syrian government forces competence, Isis capabilities and its ability to sow chaos – and reconciliation agreements that the regime of Bashar al-Assad used to regain control of the territory in the country.
Isis controlled nearly half of Syrian land at the height of his power in 2015. Since then, he has lost vast expanses of territory to the offensives of the US-led coalition and the Syrian army , taking refuge in deserted hiding places and leading an insurrection
. positions in the eastern Syrian Desert in the east and north-east of the province. Dozens of activists have arrived in recent weeks – they agreed to return the Yarmouk refugee camp, a sprawling suburb south of the capital Damascus, in exchange for a safe pbadage in the region
. of the majority – the Druze province led to great consternation among locals.
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The colonel of the army Riad Al-Asaad, in rout, sets up the army Free Syrian rebel based in Turkey. Islamist groups join the revolt
Regime forces take control of the rebel stronghold of Homs after a month of bombing. Other bloody operations are being carried out, notably in the central city of Hama, after mbadive demonstrations against the regime.
FSA fighters launch a battle for Damascus but the government holds out
The United States and Russia d & rsquo; Assad approve a plan for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons.
Hostilities between jihadists and rebel groups turn into open warfare in the north. The group that will become known as the Islamic State takes Raqqa – the first provincial capital to escape regime control – rebel forces
A US-led coalition launches strikes against Isis in Syria. The strikes benefit Kurdish groups, which since 2013 have been managing autonomous administrations in Kurdish-majority areas.
Russia launches air strikes to support Assad's troops, who are at the rear. The Russian firepower helps to reverse the role of the regime, which begins to take over the territory held by the rebels
The regime takes over the second Syrian city, Aleppo
Russia and Iran, in support of the Syrian regime, and Turkey, a rebel supporter, hold talks in Kazakhstan, between representatives of both sides. The process leads to the creation of four "de-escalation zones"
A sarin gas attack on the rebel-held Khan Sheikhun town kills more than 80 people, prompting Washington to attack a base plan.
Further complicating an already protracted conflict, Turkey launches an operation against the Kurdish people's protection units which, with the support of the United States, played a key role in pushing Isis away.
The regime launches a fierce badault on the last remaining rebel-held enclave near Damascus in eastern Ghouta. In less than four weeks, the badault supported by Russia kills more than 1,200 civilians.
"Since then, civil society activists have wondered: why did you bring Isis to the east of Sweida?", Said a local journalist and activist.
Sweida is nominally under the control of the Syrian government. there chaos raging throughout Syria.
The area is home to refugees fleeing from other parts of the country and, although the government controls some of the points of entry into the province, it has no checkpoints at all. 39, interior of the provincial capital
. Militiamen and tens of thousands of young Druze dodged their compulsory military service, a source of tension with the Assad regime.
But opposition activists argue that with a military victory in sight, government forces could possibly seek to restore complete control of the region – arguing that the threat of extremists justifies their return and their allowing to rebuild the ranks of the army and counter opponents.
Isis may also have sought revenge for an ongoing government offensive in southern Syria. The attacks took place when forces loyal to Assad continued to campaign in the neighboring province of Deraa to regain control of all of southern Syria.
Isis still controls a strip of land in Deraa in the Yarmouk River Valley near the border. Golan Heights occupied by Israel. The region has been the target of incessant airstrikes in recent days to force militants to surrender.
But for the people of Suweida, who were trying to ensure the safety and survival of their families, not even the brutality of Isis sends them away from their ancestral homeland.
"We love peace and are connected to our land," said Monther. "We will never leave here, nor board the buses, nor become displaced."
"Our roots are deep here, and we will stay, and we will be martyred here as they surround us on all sides."
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