Druze leader in Suwayda calls for intl. protection following assaults
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Suwayda, southern Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, called on Thursday for international protection, describing it as “a legitimate right for a people decimated by massacres.”
In a statement issued following deadly clashes in the Druze-majority areas of Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya near Damascus, al-Hajri appealed for “immediate and direct intervention by international forces to preserve peace.”
The recent violence in these areas erupted amid widespread outrage over audio recordings deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad, the authenticity of which remains unverified.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Wednesday, strongly rejecting such appeals. It described calls for international protection by what it termed “unlawful groups involved in violent acts” as “entirely illegitimate and unacceptable,” accusing them of operating outside the framework of Syrian law.
In his statement, al-Hajri said he no longer trusts a government “that kills its own people,” warning that the Druze community faces the threat of “mass killings, similar to those witnessed in Syria’s coastal region.”
He also called on the international community to stop ignoring what he described as ongoing massacres, urging global actors not to remain silent in the face of escalating violence.