Sectarian violence

A boy checks a destroyed car following sectarian clashes in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya near Damascus on Thursday. Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri condemned what he called a “genocidal campaign” against his people, after two days of deadly sectarian clashes. The United States called on the interim authorities to hold perpetrators accountable. Friday, Israel’s military launched air strikes near Syria’s presidential palace in Damascus after accusing the Syrian authorities of failing to protect the Druze minority from sectarian violence.