[Today’s Prayer] Death Toll from Tribal Clashes in Southern Syria Rises to 89

The death toll from inter-tribal clashes in southern Syria has risen to at least 89, the conflict monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced on the 14th (local time).

According to AFP and other news agencies, armed clashes between local Druze armed fighters and Bedouin tribes took place in the southern city of Sweida, where most Druze live, from the previous day until this morning.

SOHR reported that some members of government security forces deployed to the scene were actively involved in supporting the Bedouins.

"Government forces have entered Sweida and restored order," said Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Nourdan al-Baba. "There have been some clashes with illegal armed groups, but we are doing our best to prevent civilian casualties."

Meanwhile, the Israeli army attacked government tanks in Sweida province on this day, AP and AFP reported.

"We attacked several tanks near the village of Sami in southern Syria (Sweida province)," Colonel Avichai Adriai, an Arabic-language spokesman for the Israeli military, said on X (formerly Twitter) that day.

In Sweida province, home to the largest Druze community in Syria, Bedouins and Druze have long been at odds, with violence erupting intermittently between the two groups, AFP reported.

The Interior Ministry said it was "a result of unfortunate armed clashes between local armed groups and tribes amidst mounting tensions".

Interim President Ahmed al-Shara, who overthrew the dictatorial regime of Bashar al-Assad and established a transitional government in December last year, has been advocating a government that overcomes sectarianism, but concerns about sectarian conflict remain both inside and outside Syria.

Dozens of people were killed in clashes between the new interim government's security forces and Druze militants in April and May.

Source: Yonhap News

You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. (Joshua 23:3)

Lord, we hear the sad news that the death toll in tribal bloodshed in southern Syria has risen to at least 89. We ask you to have compassion on Syria as it lives under the shadow of death due to the sectarian strife and clashes that are taking place in and around the country.

May the Syrian people see You at work in the midst of this unstable situation, where tribal strife and clashes continue. May the tribal hatreds, strife, jealousy, and envy that have given the enemy the upper hand be put aside and, by the grace of Jesus Christ, forgiveness and love be extended.

In the midst of the onslaught of Israel's army, may we remember your covenant with Syria, and may we believe that You have fulfilled Your covenant with Israel in Isaiah 19, and may we now be Syria and Israel, advancing with the gospel for Your kingdom.

Allow the Syrian Church to lead the way for a nation, like that which is built on the sand, that it may keep the faith to the end, that it may build the foundation of the nation on the rock of prayer, and that it may comfort and heal the suffering souls of Syria with the love of Jesus.

So that Syria and Israel may be restored as the inheritance of God and the work of your hands, fulfilling the covenant to turn the Arabs and the nations to You!