Syrian Druze leaders denounce the “genocide campaign” after dozens of people were killed in a collision south of Damascus.
The leader of Syrian Druze minority condemned the attack on his community after dozens of people were killed in two-day sectarian clashes south of Damascus.
Sheikh Hikumat al-Hijiri on Thursday condemned violence in Jaramana and Sanaya near Damascus earlier this week as a “genocide campaign” against Syrian Druze communities.
Syrian intelligence ministry said 11 members of the country’s security forces were killed in two separate attacks.
The British-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR), a war monitor, said at least 101 people were killed in combat between security forces, allied fighters and local Druze groups.
The SOHR, which relies on a network of Syrian sources, said the death toll includes 30 government loyalty, 21 Druze fighters and 10 civilians, including Husam Wawar, the former mayor of Sanaya.
In the southern province of Sweida, the ethnic minority hub, 40 Druze fighters were killed in an “ambush” on the road in Sweida Damascus on Wednesday.
The clash broke out around midnight Monday after audio clips circulated on social media about a man criticizing Islamic prophet Muhammad. Audio was attributed to Druze scholars. However, scholar Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio for angering many Sunni Muslims.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Syrian government said it had reached a deal between senior Druze officials and official representatives, before security forces and pro-government fighters entered Sanaya, and Druze gunmen retreated from the streets.
The social media video showed what appeared to be a government armed group that beat a Druze man who was captured in Sanaya and made offensive sectarian remarks.
“This collective killing is systematic, clear, visible and documented,” read Al-Hijiri’s statement. “The government no longer trusts a group called the government because after the massacre they claim they are loose forces, as the government does not kill itself through a militant gang loyal to it.”
The violence poses a serious challenge to the new authorities of the country that overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. According to Soar, security forces and alliance groups will come after a wave of genocide in March in the Alawyan centre of Syria, on the Mediterranean coast, where security forces and alliance groups killed more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawyans.
Syrian authorities refuse foreign intervention
Israeli officials have expressed support for Druze, and Israeli Defense Minister Katz has warned that his country will respond “with critical forces” if new Syrian authorities cannot protect minority communities.
In a later statement, Katz said, “If Druze’s resume and the attacks on the Syrian regime fail to prevent them, Israel will respond with significant force.”
Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani reiterated on Thursday that Syria’s rejection of requests for international intervention, posting to X that “national unity is a solid foundation for the process of stability or revival.”
“A call for external intervention under pretexts and slogans only leads to further deterioration and division,” he added.
Most Druze spiritual leaders and factions have chosen to air their grievances in closed communication with the new government, but concerns have risen after the crackdown on Al-Assad Loyalists in the Syrian coastal province turned into a series of targeted revenge attacks against Alawite minority groups.
A widely circulated video from the house burns out, bloody bodies of Alawians on the street. Tens of thousands of Alawis fled south to nearby Lebanon.
Since then, Druze has become reluctant to place his arm.
