DAMASCUS: Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri on Thursday condemned what he called a “genocidal campaign” against his people, after two days of deadly sectarian clashes.
In a statement, Hijri described the violence in Jaramana and Sahnaya, near Damascus, as an “unjustifiable genocidal campaign” and urged immediate intervention by “international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes.”
His call comes after sectarian clashes between Syrian security forces, fighters aligned with them, and local Druze fighters killed 17 people in Jaramana on Monday night and 22 people in Sahnaya on Tuesday night, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitor.
On Wednesday, 15 Druze fighters were killed in an ambush near Damascus, according to SOHR and local outlet Suweyda 24.
The fighters were killed in “an ambush carried out by forces affiliated with the ministries of interior and defense and gunmen associated with them,” the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria, told AFP.
The violence was sparked by the circulation of an audio recording attributed to a Druze citizen and deemed blasphemous.
AFP was unable to confirm the recording’s authenticity.
A truce agreement was reached on Wednesday in Jaramana and Sahnaya following meetings between Druze representatives and government officials.
Syrian authorities announced the deployment of their forces in Sahnaya to ensure security, accusing ‘outlaw groups’ of instigating the clashes.
However, Hijri said he no longer trusts “an entity pretending to be a government... because the government does not kill its people through its extremist militias... and then claim they were unruly elements after the massacres.”
“The government (should) protect its people,” he added.
The latest round of violence follows a series of massacres in Syria’s coast in March, where the Observatory said security forces and allied groups killed more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites.
It was the worst bloodshed since the December ouster of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, who is from the minority community.
In a statement on Wednesday, Syria’s foreign ministry vowed to “protect all components” of society, including the Druze, and expressed its rejection of “foreign interference.”
Syria Druze leader condemns ‘genocidal campaign’ against community
https://arab.news/ypjzf
Syria Druze leader condemns ‘genocidal campaign’ against community
- Seven Druze fighters were among the 17 people killed in the Damascus suburb as clashes raged from Monday into Tuesday
Tunisian police arrest member of parliament who mocked president
- Ahmed Saidani mocked the president in a Facebook post, describing him as the “supreme commander of sewage and rainwater drainage”
TUNIS: Tunisian police arrested lawmaker Ahmed Saidani on Wednesday, two of his colleagues said, in what appeared to be part of an escalating crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied.
Saidani has recently become known for his fierce criticism of Saied. On Tuesday, he mocked the president in a Facebook post, describing him as the “supreme commander of sewage and rainwater drainage,” blasting what he said was the absence of any achievements by Saied.
Saidani was elected as a lawmaker at the end of 2022 in a parliamentary election with very low voter turnout, following Saied’s dissolution of the previous parliament and dismissal of the government in 2021.
Saied has since ruled by decree, moves the opposition has described as a coup.
Most opposition leaders, some journalists and critics of Saied, have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021.
Activists and human rights groups say Saied has cemented his one-man rule and turned Tunisia into an “open-air prison” in an effort to suppress his opponents. Saied denies being a dictator, saying he is enforcing the law and seeking to “cleanse” the country.
Once a supporter of Saied’s policies against political opponents, Saidani has become a vocal critic in recent months, accusing the president of seeking to monopolize all decision-making while avoiding responsibility, leaving others to bear the blame for problems.
Last week, Saidani also mocked the president for “taking up the hobby of taking photos with the poor and destitute,” sarcastically adding that Saied not only has solutions for Tunisia but claims to have global approaches capable of saving humanity.
Under Tunisian law, lawmakers enjoy parliamentary immunity and cannot be arrested for carrying out their duties, although detention is allowed if they are caught committing a crime.
