Syria’s President Condemned Israel Bombing The Country And Said Syria Won’t Be Dragged Into War
"We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction,"
After Israel launched multiple attacks on Syria, hitting the capital and the defense ministry, Syria’s president Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned the aggression and said that Syria won’t be dragged into war.
On Wednesday, July 16, Israel attacked Syria’s capital Damascus, bombing the defense ministry and near the presidential palace, as well as several places in southern Syria, claiming it is protecting the Druze minority, which Israel views as a potential ally.
The Druze are an ethnoreligious minority group found primarily in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, that has a distinct religion, culture and language, while also identifying as Arabs.
On Sunday, July 13, deadly clashes had erupted between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda province in southern Syria, which is largely inhabited by Druze, leading the government to step in and deploy security forces in the area.
Syrian authorities then declared a ceasefire on Tuesday, July 15, after the clashes had killed more than 203 people and injured hundreds of others, including Druze, Bedouin and Syrian security forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
However, Israel then launched a series of airstrikes near and within Suwayda shortly after the ceasefire and then attacked the capital on Wednesday, saying it was acting to prevent Syrian government forces from threatening the Druze population.
In a televised address on Thursday, Sharaa said that Israel's attacks are not aimed at protecting minorities but rather at dismantling Syria and dragging it into chaos, adding that “Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies.”
He also addressed the Druze community, saying that they are “an inseparable part of Syria and that protecting their rights and security is a priority.
He vowed to hold accountable those responsible for violence against the Druze and announced that Druze religious leaders and local factions would now oversee security in Suwayda, following the government forces’ withdrawal as part of a ceasefire agreement.
"We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," Sharaa said.
Cherry Mohamed
Sofia Hou
