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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Hundreds in Syria’s Sweida demand Druze self-determination; some wave Israeli flag |
| 2025-08-17 |
| [IsraelTimes] Demonstrators chant ‘free free Sweida… Julani out,’ appeal for international support following last month’s deadly sectarian violence Hundreds demonstrated in Syria’s Sweida on Saturday, denouncing last month’s sectarian violence and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province. A week of bloodshed began on July 13 with festivities between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces and volunteers from other parts of Syria. Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the festivities, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions. The Observatory has said the violence killed some 1,600 people, many of them Druze civilians. In one of Sweida’s main squares, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag, an AFP correspondent reported. Israel, which has its own Druze community, bombed government forces during last month’s violence, saying it was acting to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria. Rayyan Maarouf, who heads the activist media collective Suwayda 24, said Saturday’s demonstration in Sweida was the largest since last months’s festivities, and that there were similar gatherings in areas including the nearby towns of Shahba and Salkhad. He added that this was the first time people protested under the slogan of self determination. "This is an unprecedented change for the Druze in Syria," Maarouf told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. Other protesters chanted "free free Sweida... Julani out," referring to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre as an Islamist rebel commander was Abu Mohammed al-Julani. Some held placards, one reading "the right to self-determination is a sacred right for Sweida," while another demanded an aid corridor from neighboring Jordan. "Today Sweida has taken a stand... under the slogan of the right to self-determination," resident Munif Rashid, 51, told AFP. "This is Sweida’s position today, and no one can blame it because the assault it faced was not normal." A live broadcast by Suwayda showed a woman telling the applauding crowd: "We do not want self-administration or federal rule, we want full independence." Demonstrator Mustafa Sehnawi, who said he was a US-Syrian dual national, told AFP: "We’ve been under siege for more than one month. "We call on the international community... to open (humanitarian) corridors." Residents have accused the government of imposing a blockade, something officials have denied, pointing to the entry of several aid convoys. State media said another convoy entered the province on Saturday. But the Observatory said the main Damascus-Sweida highway was still cut, accusing gangs linked to the government of blocking the resumption of normal trade. Last month, authorities announced the formation of a committee to investigate the Sweida violence.
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| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 Israel is the only light in ME darkness. |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-08-17 02:28 |