ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - France and Germany on Wednesday expressed concern about the sectarian violence against Syria’s Druze population with two days of deadly clashes near Damascus having left over 100 dead.
“France condemns in the strongest terms the sectarian violence targeting the Druze community in areas to the south of Damascus. France calls on all Syrian and regional actors to bring a stop to the clashes and urges the Syrian authorities to make every effort to restore calm and promote civil peace,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Germany also said it was following the events with “great concern.”
“Calming efforts should continue from all sides now. Hate speech and escalatory steps must be stopped, and concrete measures must be taken to achieve transitional reconciliation and justice,” Stefan Schneck, Germany’s envoy to Syria, said on X.
Tensions boiled over in southern Syria on Tuesday after an offensive audio clip about the Prophet Mohammed initially attributed to a Druze cleric triggered sectarian anger. The audio, later discovered to be fake, sparked violent confrontations in the majority Druze and Christian suburb of Jaramana, near Damascus, leaving at least 18 dead and dozens injured.
The conflict later spread to Sahnaya and the nearby Ashrafiyat Sahnaya. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 101 people have been killed since clashes broke out on Tuesday.
The UK also said it was following the sectarian violence in southern Syria, with Special Representative Ann Snow urging “immediate de-escalation and protection of civilians.”
Israel, which has previously warned Damascus against targeting the Druze, carried out several airstrikes on affiliated security forces. A joint statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said that Israel had struck an “extremist group” planning to launch an attack on the Druze in Sahnaya.
Its involvement triggered a reaction from Syria’s foreign ministry, which responded and said it strongly rejects “all forms of foreign intervention,” adding that the conflict with the Druze fighters, whom it called “outlaw groups,” is an internal matter.
In the statement, France called on Israel to “refrain from taking any unilateral actions that could aggravate tensions between communities in Syria.”
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Syrian Druze, slammed the “genocidal campaign” against his community on Thursday.
In a statement, Hijri called for the “necessary and immediate” intervention of “the international forces to maintain peace, to prevent the continuation of these crimes, to stop them immediately, and to issue an urgent appeal to speed up the protection of an innocent, defenseless people.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday called on the international community to “protect” the Druze and “not to turn a blind eye” on the sectarian violence.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar calls on the international community to not turn a blind eye to the sectarian violence targeting Syria's Druze community. pic.twitter.com/ACQ7z6SGCS
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Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December. Its then leader and now Syria’s interim President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has repeatedly pledged to protect the rights of all Syrians. In December, the rebel coalition, including the HTS, agreed to merge into the Syrian defense ministry.
The international community has expressed concern that the new Islamist authorities in Damascus may impose strict Islamic rule in Syria, threatening the country’s minority groups, such as Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites.
Following clashes in Jaramana in February, Israeli Defense Minister Katz warned Damascus to “not harm the Druze,” and stressed that Syrian authorities would “suffer the consequences” if they harmed the community.
Syria’s Druze, Christian, and Kurdish communities have expressed deep mistrust toward Damascus and rejected the interim constitution.
