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Syrian president condemns Israel’s attacks on Damascus and vows to protect Druze community Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after days of clashes with Druze fighters
(about 5 hours later)
Ahmed al-Sharaa thanks American, Arab and Turkish mediators as efforts to restore order in city of Sweida continue President Ahmed al-Sharaa says move avoids dragging country ‘into a new, broader war’ after Israel attacks Damascus
Syria’s interim president has condemned Israel for “wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities” after the Israeli military struck Damascus on Wednesday as it sought to intervene in clashes between the Syrian army and Druze fighters. Syrian government forces have withdrawn from the Druze-majority province of Sweida, ending four days of clashes between the army and local Druze fighters.
Israel’s strikes would have pushed “matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate”, Ahmed al-Sharaa said in his first televised statement since the attacks. In a speech on Thursday, the Syrian president said Druze groups would be left to govern security affairs in the southern province, in what he described as a choice to avoid war.
Sharaa went on to say protecting Druze citizens and their rights is “our priority” after clashes in the southern city of Sweida left more than 350 people dead according to a war monitor. Ahmed al-Sharaa said: “We sought to avoid dragging the country into a new, broader war that could derail it from its path to recovery from the devastating war … We chose the interests of Syrians over chaos and destruction.”
Israel’s airstrikes on Wednesday blew up part of Syria’s defence ministry and hit near the presidential palace. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said the strike on the defence ministry had been a message to the Syrian president “regarding the events in Sweida”. The Israeli military struck Syrian tanks on Monday and has continued to conduct dozens of drone strikes on troops, killing some soldiers. Syrian security forces initially intervened in Sweida after a local dispute between Arab Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters escalated into fighting. Druze militiamen tried to prevent the entry of the Syrian army and attacked them, which led to days of clashes.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on X that an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area and urged “all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made”, without elaborating on the nature of the agreement. The Israeli military also intervened, striking the Syrian defence ministry headquarters in Damascus and dozens of Syrian military targets in the south. An Israeli military spokesperson said the strikes were a “message” to Syria’s president regarding the events in Sweida.
More than 350 people were killed in the clashes, according to the UK-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Sharaa condemned Israel for “wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities” in his speech. He said the strikes were pushing “matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate”.
The clashes were the most serious challenge to Damascus’s rule since a series of massacres in the coastal north-west in March, in which 1,500 mostly Alawite civilians were killed after a foiled attack by remnants of the ousted Assad regime on security forces.
The Druze, a religious minority in Syria and the wider Middle East, make up the majority of the population of Sweida province. They have been negotiating with the Islamist-led authorities in Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in an attempt to achieve autonomy but have yet to reach an agreement that defines their relationship with the new Syrian state.
Some Druze said they felt further estranged from the new authority after the clashes. “I would rather die than be ruled by them, at least I would die with dignity,” said a 25-year-old civil engineer in Sweida, whose two cousins were killed on Tuesday.
Other Druze dignitaries, particularly Youssef Jarboua, one of Syria’s three Druze spiritual leaders, have advocated for a more conciliatory approach with Damascus.
Sharaa acknowledged abuses against civilians had occurred and said “lawless groups” had committed crimes against them.
“We are determined to hold accountable anyone who wronged or harmed our Druze brethren. They are under the protection and responsibility of the state and the law and justice guarantee the rights of all without exception,” he added.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, welcomed the ceasefire. He said on X that an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area, urging “all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made”, without elaborating on the nature of the agreement.
The US had been mediating in an attempt to stop Israeli strikes on Syria, which came as a surprise as Israeli-Syria ties had been warming since May.
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Rubio blamed “historic longtime rivalries” for the clashes in Sweida. “It led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side,” Rubio told reporters in the White House.Rubio blamed “historic longtime rivalries” for the clashes in Sweida. “It led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side,” Rubio told reporters in the White House.
On Wednesday, the Syrian government and one of the three spiritual leaders of the Syrian Druze community announced a ceasefire. It was unclear if the truce would hold, however, as another spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, vowed to keep fighting, calling the government a collection of “armed gangs”.
Syria said its army had begun to withdraw from Sweida, after the US call for government forces to leave the majority-Druze southern city. The Syrian government statement did not mention any withdrawal of other government security forces, which had deployed to the city on Tuesday with the stated aim of overseeing a previous truce agreed with Druze community leaders after days of deadly fighting with local Bedouin tribes.
Sharaa said in his televised address that those responsible for violence against Druze people would be held accountable as the Druze “are under the protection and responsibility of the state”. He added that “responsibility” for security in Sweida would be handed over to elders and local factions.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the 350 killed in Sweida province violence included government forces, local fighters and 27 Druze civilians killed in “summary executions”.
Diplomats said the UN security council would meet on Thursday to address the Syrian conflict.Diplomats said the UN security council would meet on Thursday to address the Syrian conflict.
The clashes this week pitting mostly Sunni government forces against Druze fighters have prompted fears of a wider sectarian conflict. The violence is the most serious challenge to Damascus’s rule since the coastal massacres and has threatened to further push away everyday Druze from the state. It was unclear how the autonomy of Sweida would be affected by the days of clashes. Though Sharaa’s speech said the military would be withdrawing, it made no mention of members of general security, Syria’s equivalent to gendarmes.
The Syrian army entered Sweida on Sunday in an attempt to restore calm between Druze fighters and Arab Bedouin tribes. Some Druze militias have vowed to prevent Syrian government forces entering Sweida and have attacked them, leading to escalating clashes. For months, Sweida has been negotiating its place within the new Syrian state, as the minority Druze have deep misgivings about the new authorities. The clashes exposed rifts between the Druze leadership, with another of the three spiritual chiefs, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, rejecting any forms of cooperation with Damascus.
As government forces entered Sweida, accounts of human rights abuses began to emerge. The clashes also threatened to upset months of diplomatic progress between Israel and Syria, with Israel striking for the first time in months.
Israel’s attacks on Wednesday marked a significant escalation against Sharaa’s Islamist-led administration. They came despite his warming ties with the US and his administration’s evolving security contacts with Israel. Syrian and Israeli officials had recently met in Baku, Azerbaijan, for security coordination discussions, and Syria’s leadership said it could eventually be open for normalisation with its southern neighbour.
After calls in Israel to help Druze in Syria, scores of Israeli Druze broke through the border fence on Wednesday, linking up with Druze on the Syrian side, a Reuters witness said. The clashes provoked anger among the Druze population in Israel, with dozens of Israeli Druze breaking through the border fence on Wednesday.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Israeli military was working to help the Druze and urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border. The Israeli military said it was working to safely return civilians who had crossed. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Israeli military was working to help the Druze and urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border.
With reporting from Reuters and Agence France-Presse The Israeli military said it was working to safely return civilians who had crossed.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report