Syria unrest triggers international reaction

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The recent clashes in Druze-majority areas in southern Syria have sparked international concern, with the United Nations calling for “immediate measures” to bring an end to the violence. 

Earlier this week, violent confrontations broke out in the Druze-majority suburb of Jaramana, near Damascus, leaving at least 18 people dead and dozens injured. Later, the conflict spread to Sahnaya and the nearby Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, leading to the death of many others. The violence was reportedly triggered by an offensive audio clip about the Prophet Muhammad, initially attributed to a Druze cleric but later found to be fake.

Israel has carried out several airstrikes against the affiliated security forces, with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister, Israel Katz, stating that Israel had hit an “extremist group” preparing to launch an attack on the Druze in Sahnaya, adding that “Israel expects” the new Syrian leadership “to act in order to prevent harm to the Druze [community]."

Rif Dimashq Governor Amer al-Sheikh confirmed during a press conference late Wednesday that Israel had targeted a group of Damascus-affiliated security forces in Sahnaya. 

The Syrian foreign ministry said it strongly rejects "all forms of foreign intervention," adding that the conflict with the Druze fighters, whom it calls "outlaw groups," is an internal matter.

“The Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms its steadfast commitment to protecting all components of the Syrian people without exception, including members of the honorable Druze community, who have been and remain an authentic part of the Syrian national fabric,” it added. 

Turkey, a supporter of the new administration in Damascus, condemned Israeli attacks, with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan deeming the Israeli attacks as “provocation” and “unacceptable.”

He added, “We will express our response in various ways to any attempt to drag our neighbor Syria into a new quagmire of instability. Our concern is not more conflict in the region but more peace and stability,” reported state media. 

The governors of Rif Dimashq and Suwayda held a meeting with several Druze dignitaries in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to discuss and reach an initial agreement regarding the unrest in the Druze-majority town, reported the state-owned SANA news agency. 

The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, expressed his “deep concern at unacceptable violence in Syria," adding that he is also "alarmed" by reports of casualties among civilians and security forces and Israeli attacks. Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said during a press briefing. 

“These attacks must stop,” he said, urging “immediate measures to ensure the protection of civilians, bring about calm, and prevent incitement of communal tensions, and notes and supports efforts underway in this regard.” 

The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) said the events in southern Syria were “unfortunate,” expressing its “deep concern.”

The Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), the official name of the Kurdish enclave, also called on “all parties to de-escalate and stop the escalation,” demanding that “the Damascus government intervene and prevent a repetition of what happened on the Syrian coast in terms of massacres and killings of civilians on a sectarian basis.”

This is not the first time Druze-majority areas have faced turmoil.

Jaramana has seen repeated tensions since the December fall of Assad’s regime to a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). In early March, forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership deployed in the suburb following clashes with Druze fighters.