Syrian president vows to protect Druze after Israeli strikes on Damascus

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said that protecting the country’s Druze citizens and their rights is simply a priority, arsenic helium announced that section leaders volition instrumentality power of information successful the metropolis of Suwayda successful a bid to extremity sectarian unit successful the southbound and successful the aftermath of deadly Israeli strikes successful Damascus.

The Syrian person made the statements successful a televised code connected Thursday, addressing days of fierce clashes betwixt Druze equipped groups, Bedouin tribes and authorities forces successful the predominantly Druze metropolis of Suwayda that person killed much than 360 people, according to UK-based warfare monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel, which sees the Druze arsenic an ally, launched a series of almighty strikes adjacent Syria’s statesmanlike palace and connected the subject office successful the bosom of Damascus connected Wednesday, informing Syria it would escalate further if it did not retreat from the southbound and halt attacks against the Druze community.

“We are keen connected holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people, arsenic they are nether the extortion and work of the state,” Sharaa said successful the speech, describing the number arsenic “a cardinal portion of the cloth of this nation.”

“We affirm to you that the extortion of your rights and freedoms is among our apical priorities, and we cull immoderate effort aimed astatine pulling you toward an outer party.”

Al-Sharaa said that “responsibility” for information successful the unit plagued would beryllium handed to spiritual elders and immoderate section factions “based connected the ultimate nationalist interest”.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa astatine the statesmanlike palace, successful Damascus, Syria [File: Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]

Troops withdraw

The remarks came aft the Syrian authorities and Druze person Sheikh Yousef Jarbou announced a caller ceasefire successful the city, and said the service had begun withdrawing from Suwayda.

But determination does not look to beryllium statement successful Suwayda among the Druze, a tiny but influential number successful some Syria and Israel.

While Sheikh Jarbou said helium agreed to the ceasefire woody and spoke retired against the Israeli strikes connected Syria, telling Al Jazeera Arabic that “any onslaught connected the Syrian authorities is an onslaught connected the Druze community”, different influential Druze person successful the metropolis said helium rejected the ceasefire.

Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari promised to proceed warring until Suwayda was “entirely liberated”.

‘Unknown fate’ avoided

In the speech, al-Sharaa called for nationalist unity, saying that “the gathering of a caller Syria requires each of america to basal agreed down our state, to perpetrate to its principles, and to spot the involvement of the federation supra immoderate idiosyncratic oregon constricted interest.”

Addressing the Druze community, helium said the authorities rejected “any effort to resistance you into the hands of an outer party”, successful a notation to Israel’s involution successful the conflict.

“We are not among those who fearfulness the war. We person spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we person enactment the interests of the Syrians earlier chaos and destruction,” helium said.

He added that Israel’s extended strikes, including those that killed 3 radical and injured 34 successful Damascus connected Wednesday, could person pushed “matters to a large-scale escalation, if it were not for the involution of US, Turkish and Arab mediators “which saved the portion from an chartless fate”.

The US, which has softened its stance towards Syria and is attempting to re-engage and enactment the country’s reconstruction aft much than a decennary of conflict, has been anxious to de-escalate the conflict, which State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called “a misunderstanding betwixt caller neighbours”.

Actions ‘louder than words’

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohamad Elmasry, prof of media studies astatine the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said al-Sharaa’s code contained encouraging messages astir the spot of the Druze number successful Syrian society.

“He said that the Druze are an indispensable component,” said Elmasry. “He said it’s the Syrian government’s work to support them and to clasp to relationship those who person transgressed against them successful caller days.”

But, helium said, it would each travel down to however his authorities behaved successful the aftermath of the speech.

“II deliberation their actions volition talk louder than words for those number groups successful Syria.”

He said the code besides contained a enactment of informing to Israel that it did not fearfulness warfare and that “anyone who starts a warfare with Syria … would regret it”.

“These were messages directed astatine Israel, and it marked a precise important departure from what we’ve heard from him and astatine times not heard from him erstwhile Israel has attacked Syria,” Elmasry said.

“I deliberation we’re astatine a perchance unsafe tipping constituent and it truly volition travel down to, I think, the grade to which Donald Trump and the United States are consenting to benignant of rein successful Israel,” helium said.

“It’s a precise hard concern successful Syria. You are talking astir a precise multiethnic society. You person extracurricular forces, starting with Israel, trying to fundamentally fragment the state and found a separatist system, if you will, successful Syria,” Elmasry said.

Cycle of violence

The escalation successful Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks betwixt Druze equipped factions and section Sunni Bedouin tribes successful Suwayda province.

Government forces that intervened to reconstruct bid clashed with the Druze, with reports of Syrian troops committing abuses, according to section monitors and analysts.

The actions committed by members of the information forces – acknowledged arsenic “unlawful transgression acts” by the Syrian presidency – person fixed Israel a pretext to bombard Syria arsenic it builds military bases successful the demilitarised buffer portion with Syria seized by its forces.