Syria: Intensive efforts to calm the situation after days of tension and fighting
A day after the Jaramana incidents, which resulted in deaths and injuries in intermittent clashes between gunmen, Syrian authorities announced on Wednesday the end of a security operation in Ashrafieh Sahnaya, in the Damascus countryside, and the restoration of stability.
The operation followed the killing of 16 people, including civilians and security personnel, in attacks carried out by what was described an “outlaw groups”.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior stated, “the clashes in Sahnaya came as a result of the spread of an audio recording by unknown person, insulting the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the subsequent incitement and hate speech on social media”.
According to official sources, security forces, in coordination with Druze leaders, were able to restore calm in the two areas, which are densely populated by Druze residents, after attacks launched by “outlaw” armed groups seeking to create chaos and strife.
During a press conference, the governor of the Damascus countryside, Amer al Sheikh, said, “Outlaw groups infiltrated agricultural lands in the Ashrafieh Sahnaya area (on Tuesday/Wednesday night), targeting every civilian or security movement, resulting in the deaths and injuries of civilians and members of the General Security Forces”.
He added, “I visited Ashrafieh Sahnaya today (Wednesday) with the governors of Sweida and Quneitra (south), and we met with social activists and stressed the need for the return of state institutions”.
He stressed “zero tolerance or leniency towards insults to religious sanctities, especially the noble Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him”.
The Syrian official noted that General Security arrested an unspecified number of outlaws in Ashrafieh Sahnaya, stressing “the need to restrict the possession of weapons to the state”.
For his part, the Director of Security for the Damascus Countryside, Lieutenant Colonel Hussam al Tahhan, announced in a statement published by the Syrian Interior Ministry that the death toll in the Sahnaya incident had risen to 16 civilians and security personnel.
Claiming to be defending Druze rights in Syria, Israel launched airstrikes on Wednesday on the outskirts of the Ashrafieh Sahnaya area, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
On the other hand in Israel, in a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz described the raids as a “warning operation” aimed at preventing “any harm to the Druze community” in Syria, a clear interference in Syria’s internal affairs.
Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday killed a Syrian security member, according to Damascus Countryside Governor Amer al Sheikh.
The Israeli army also said in a statement that it had evacuated three Syrian Druze to receive treatment inside Israel after they were injured in the Damascus countryside.
For months, warnings have been escalating from both inside and outside Syria regarding Israel’s attempts to exploit the Druze to further its violations of Syrian sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Damascus maintains that all sects in the country enjoy equal rights without discrimination.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights.
Taking advantage of the new situation in the country following the overthrow of Assad’s regime, Israel occupied the Syrian buffer zone and declared the collapse of the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two sides.
Although the new Syrian administration, headed by Ahmad al Sharaa, hasn’t threatened Israel in any way, Tel Aviv has been launching airstrikes on Syria on an almost daily basis for months, killing civilians and destroying Syrian military sites, vehicles, and ammunition.
Following the violence in the Sahnaya area, Syria’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Osama al Rifai, warned on Wednesday against sedition and revenge, calling for peaceful coexistence among the country’s various sects.
On Wednesday, the southern Syrian province of Sweida announced a preliminary agreement for a ceasefire in Jaramana and Ashrafieh Sahnaya, and the formation of a joint committee to resolve the security tensions in the two areas.
This came according to a statement issued by the governorate on its Telegram channel, after it had announced earlier on Wednesday that a session would be held with the governors of Sweida, Mustafa al-Bakour, Rif Dimashq, Amer al Sheikh, and Quneitra, Ahmed al Dalati, along with the Druze sheikhs of mind, Hamoud al Hanawi and Youssef al Jarbou.
The Sweida Governorate stated, “During the session held in Damascus, attended by the governors of the Damascus countryside, Sweida, and Quneitra, along with a number of dignitaries and social figures (whose identities weren’t disclosed), a preliminary agreement was reached stipulating a ceasefire in Jaramana and Ashrafieh Sahnaya”.
The statement added, “A joint committee has also been formed to work on stopping the bloodshed and finding solutions that will contribute to achieving calm and stabilizing the situation in both regions”.
For its part, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement its complete rejection of calls for so-called international protection issued by outlaw groups involved in acts of violence.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry emphasized that these appeals “come from parties operating outside the framework of Syrian law, in a clear attempt to internationalize a situation that should be addressed exclusively within Syrian state institutions”.
The Syrian government expressed its “deep appreciation for the wise and responsible role played by a number of Druze sheikhs and leaders in extinguishing the fire of strife and preserving civil peace,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
