Tel Aviv [Israel], March 20 (ANI): Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said Friday that overnight strikes in southern Syria hit a command centre and combat equipment at regime military camps, carried out in response to attacks on Druze civilians in the As-Suwayda region.
In a post on X, the IDF said it “will not tolerate harm to Druze in Syria and will continue to act for their protection,” adding that it is monitoring developments in southern Syria and will act according to directives from the political echelon.
“In response to attacks against the Druze population in the As-Suwayda area: IDF strikes Syrian regime infrastructure in southern Syria. The IDF struck overnight a command center and combat equipment in Syrian regime military camps in the southern Syria area. This was in response to yesterday’s events in which Druze civilians were attacked in the As-Suwayda area. The IDF will not tolerate harm to Druze in Syria and will continue to act for their protection. The IDF continues to monitor developments in southern Syria and will act in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.” https://x.com/idfonline/status/2034875081034236203?s=20
The statement follows reporting by the Jerusalem Post, which cited local Druze media saying Syrian internal security forces were targeted with mortar shells and that heavily armed groups from a National Guard Druze paramilitary formation were seen moving in the Sweida area.
Citing a recent independent international commission of inquiry report published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Jerusalem Post noted minorities have faced abductions, sexual violence and arbitrary detentions.
The Druze are an ethnoreligious minority. Of an estimated one million worldwide, the community is concentrated mainly in Syria and Lebanon, with about 104,000 in Israel—including roughly 18,000 in the Golan—and several thousand who have emigrated to Europe and the Americas, according to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Israel the Druze community holds a distinctive position among minority groups, with members occupying senior roles in political, public and military life.
The strikes in Syria come against the backdrop of heightened tensions across West Asia and the Gulf linked to the broader US-Israel–Iran confrontation, which escalated after the deaths of several senior Iranian commanders in US- and Israeli-linked strikes in Iran. (ANI)
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