This week, despite declared ceasefire, Druze continue to be killed in Syria. Global outcry over starvation in Gaza. Peace needed as Thai-Cambodian border conflict escalates.
Despite Declared Ceasefire, Druze Continue to be Killed in Syria
Syria is struggling to enforce a ceasefire amidst the conflict between members of the Druze minority and Sunni Bedouin fighters in the Sweida area. Last week, BBC reported on June 20 that over 900 people were reported to have been killed in the past week in clashes between the two groups.
Government forces deployed to quell the violence have been accused of joining in attacks against the Druze community. On July 22, international media reported that one man, Hosam Saraya, 35 part of a family of eight Druze executed, was a US citizen from Oklahoma. A school in Sweida that Saraya founded blamed government-linked fighters for the attack.
These developments come amidst rising fears for Syrian minorities. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 1,700 people were killed in a predominantly Alawite region of Syria’s coast in March. A government committee identified 298 suspects implicated in serious violations during violence in the region.
Global Outcry Over Starvation in Gaza
This week there has been a global outcry over the situation in Gaza after 115 aid groups, in a statement, described what was happening in the strip as “mass starvation.” Among the groups involved were Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and Oxfam International.
On July 23, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that 10 Palestinians had died due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours. The ministry noted that while a total of 111 people had died due to hunger since the beginning of the war, 25 of them, including four children, had died in the past 48 hours.
The statement by the 115 aid groups warned of “record rates of malnutrition,” particularly among children and the elderly, citing doctors’ reports. The organizations said that aid workers themselves are joining food lines. The organizations accused Israel of implementing “restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege [that] have created chaos, starvation, and death.”
However, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said there was “no famine” in Gaza, but rather a “man-made shortage engineered by Hamas.”
Mencer said that 2 million meals were distributed to Gazans on July 21, and that 87 million meals had been distributed since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution system began in late May, ABC News reported. He said that Hamas had made efforts to prevent food’s distribution, deliberately putting Gazans at risk of hunger.
Peace Needed as Thai-Cambodian Border Conflict Escalates
The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has escalated, and peace is needed in the border area between the two countries. On July 24, both countries exchanged gunfire, claiming the other had fired the first shot, and 12 people, mostly Thai civilians, were killed. Cambodia launched a rocket attack on a gas station in a village, and Thailand carried out airstrikes on Cambodian military targets, BBC reported.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, told CNN that the situation is “likely to get worse before it gets better.”
On July 25, Thailand’s interior ministry said that the country had evacuated 100,672 people from four border provinces to shelters. Meanwhile, the health ministry said that the death toll had risen to 14.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia escalated in 2008 over a Hindu temple, paving the way for more violence over many years.
Keywords: Syria, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Thailand, Myanmar, border, peace, conflict, conflict resolution
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
