Israel Vows to Protect the Druze: Islamists Attack the Druze in Syria
Nuray Lydia Oglu, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are monitoring events in southern Syria. This concerns the threat by Sunni Islamists against the minority Druze community.
After the horrendous pogrom against the Alawites and attacks against Christians, all regional nations and the international community should be concerned by events in Syria.
The Guardian reports, “…fighting had started overnight in the town of Ashrafiah Sahnaya, south-west of Damascus, after unknown gunmen attacked a security checkpoint. An attack on the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana a day earlier left at least 10 people dead, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.”
The Druze community – similar to Alawites, Christians, the Kurds, and others – fear the new power brokers in Damascus. This relates to the threat of Sunni Islamism and Takfiri sectarian forces that are embedded within the new elites in Damascus.
The BBC reports, “Deadly clashes between Islamist armed factions, security forces and fighters from the Druze religious minority near Damascus are another sign of the continuing fragility of the security situation in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.”
France 24 reports, “At least 100 people have been killed in two days of sectarian clashes in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a spiritual leader of the Druze community, has condemned what he calls a ‘genocidal campaign’ against his people.“
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri urged intervention by “international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes.”
The Druze leader 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.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel warned the new power brokers in Syria not to “enter the area south of Damascus.” This warning was issued several months ago.
After recent attacks against the Druze, Netanyahu notified the media that the IDF attacked an “extremist group that was preparing to attack the Druze population south of Damascus.”
The IDF warned that Syrian government forces will face increasing attacks “if the violence against the Druze does not stop.”
In March, Sunni Islamists and Islamist groups tied to the political elites in Damascus killed approximately 1,700 civilians. The overwhelming majority of these civilians were Alawites.
Alawites were already being killed in Syria by Sunni Islamists before the latest pogrom happened in Latakia and Tartus (Tatous) – and other areas (Hama and Homs provinces). Therefore, the embattled Alawites – and other minorities – need international support economically, politically, and socially.
All minorities reside in fear in Syria.
Naturally, NATO Turkey supports the ruling elites in Damascus.
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