ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Germany's envoy to Syria on Wednesday expressed deep concern over reports of civilian casualties following a suspected Israeli shelling on Daraa province, southwest of the country, stressing that foreign attacks on Syrian territory threaten its stability and violate international law.
In a statement he posted on X, Stefan Schneck said, “We are following with deep concern reports of civilian deaths in [the town of Koya in] western Daraa,” emphasizing that “the protection of civilians must remain a top priority.”
Syria’s foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Israel's bombardment of targets in Daraa and called for an international investigation into the attack. The ministry noted that six people were killed, warning that the death toll is “likely” to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.
Earlier in the day, local authorities in Daraa stated that an “Israeli shelling” occurred in parallel with an “incursion by Israeli occupation forces” into the town of Koya, west of the province. The bombardment triggered panic among locals, prompting “a large wave of displacement from Koya.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Tuesday said it had targeted “several terrorists who opened fire toward them in southern Syria” but did not confirm whether the incident was the same as the one reported by Syrian authorities.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on the same day announced that they had launched airstrikes on two military bases in Syria’s central Homs province to destroy "military capabilities" in the area.
Since Assad’s ouster in early December, Israel has scrambled to destroy Damascus’s military stockpiles. It also sent troops across the border into a buffer zone east of the annexed Golan Heights, justifying the move as a precaution amid the political instability in Syria.
Germany's envoy to Syria on Wednesday underscored that Berlin’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock “made clear during her visit to Damascus last week that foreign attacks on Syrian territory threaten its stability and contravene international law.”
Baerbock led a high-profile delegation to Damascus on Thursday to hold talks with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and reopen her country’s embassy in the country after a 13-year diplomatic hiatus.
In addition to Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia also condemned the reported attack in southwest Syria on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
