The clashes occurred after an audio clip with insults against Islam spread in social media. The man heard is said to belong to the religious minority group Druze and the clip has outraged some Sunni Muslims.
As the conflict monitor Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) describes it, heavy clashes broke out when the Syrian government's security forces and militiamen they collaborate with stormed Jaramana, located southeast of Damascus and inhabited by many Druze and Christians.
Six of the dead were Druze and three were part of the attacking forces, according to SOHR.
Massacres recently
Sectarian violence has been simmering in Syria since dictator Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in a jihad-led offensive at the end of last year. In March, battles and massacres took place in areas inhabited by many Alawites, a Shia minority. Hundreds, possibly a thousand, people were reported to have been killed.
Forces led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took power in Syria in a lightning-fast offensive from the country's northwestern part in December. The organization has previously been terrorist-listed and has continued to have many extremists in its leadership, although leader Ahmed al-Shara's new government has sought to present itself as a relatively moderate and tolerant Islamist regime as the war-torn country seeks cooperation with the outside world.
The Interior Ministry in Damascus also reports deaths in Jaramana, but attributes the violent escalation there to unspecified armed groups and describes it as security forces being sent to calm down the situation.
Fabricated?
The authorities had previously announced that they are seeking those responsible for the audio clip, which contained insults against the Islamic prophet Muhammad. They then emphasized the importance of not letting the situation escalate into disorders or threats.
Druze leaders in Jaramana have partly condemned the audio clip and described it as a fabricated provocation to sow discord, and partly attributed the violent escalation to the Syrian authorities.
Israel, which took a step into Syria after the power shift, has previously said it stands ready to defend the minority groups in Jaramana if needed.
