The Syrian leader made the statements in a televised speech on Thursday, addressing days of fierce clashes between Druze armed groups, Bedouin tribes and government forces in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda.
Israel, which sees the Druze as an ally, launched a series of powerful strikes near Syria’s presidential palace and on the military headquarters in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, warning Syria it would escalate further if it did not withdraw from the south and halt attacks against the Druze community.
“We are keen on holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people, as they are under the protection and responsibility of the state,” Sharaa said in the speech, describing the minority as “a fundamental part of the fabric of this nation.”
“We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities,” he continued, adding, “We reject any attempt foreign or domestic to sow division within our ranks.”
Al-Sharaa stated that “responsibility” for security in the violence plagued would be handed to religious elders and some local factions “based on the supreme national interest”.
At least 169 people have been killed in the violence in southern Syria in recent days, local sources tell Al Jazeera, while UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says that more than 360 people have been killed.
The remarks came after the Syrian government and Druze leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou announced a new ceasefire in the city, and said the army had begun withdrawing from Suwayda. Dozens of Syrian military vehicles were seen leaving the city overnight.
One Druze leader, Sheikh Jarbou, stated that he agreed to the ceasefire deal and has spoke out against the Israeli strikes on Syria, telling Al Jazeera Arabic that “any attack on the Syrian state is an attack on the Druze community”.
But another influential Druze leader in the city, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, noted he rejected the ceasefire and had promised to continue fighting until Suwayda was “entirely liberated”.
In his speech, al-Sharaa called for national unity, saying that “the building of a new Syria requires all of us to stand united behind our state, to commit to its principles, and to place the interest of the nation above any personal or limited interest.”
Addressing the Druze community, he stressed that the government rejected “any attempt to drag you into the hands of an external party”, in a pointed reference to Israel’s deadly intervention in the conflict.
“The Israeli entity, which has consistently targeted our stability and sowed discord since the fall of the former regime, now seeks once again to turn our sacred land into a theatre of endless chaos,” he continued.
“We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction.”
He added that Israel’s extensive strikes, including those that killed three people and injured 34 in Damascus on Wednesday, could have pushed “matters to a large-scale escalation, if it were not for the intervention of US, Turkish and Arab mediators “which saved the region from an unknown fate”.
The US, which has softened its stance towards Syria and is attempting to re-engage and support the country’s reconstruction after more than a decade of conflict, has been eager to de-escalate the conflict, which State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called “a misunderstanding between new neighbours”. The US called on Syria on Wednesday to withdraw its troops from the southern border area in order to de-escalate tensions.
The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between Druze armed factions and local Sunni Bedouin tribes in Suwayda province.
Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze, with reports of Syrian troops committing abuses, according to local monitors and analysts.
The actions committed by members of the security forces – acknowledged as “unlawful criminal acts” by the Syrian presidency – have given Israel a pretext to bombard Syria as it builds military bases in the demilitarised buffer zone with Syria seized by its forces.
Clashes previously broke out between government troops and Druze fighters in April and May, killing dozens. Local leaders and religious figures responded by signing agreements to contain the escalation, and better integrate Druze fighters into the new Syrian administration.
The Druze developed their own militias during the nearly 14-year ruinous war. Since al-Assad’s fall, Druze factions have been operating with a degree of autonomy in Suwayda and surrounding areas.
Israel has been attempting to expand its control in southern Syria since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December, and has repeatedly bombed the country this year.
Amid the fighting in Suwayda, Israel has demanded the Syrian troop withdraw to create a demilitarised zone in southern Syria, and have been moving ground forces deeper into the occupied Golan Heights, effectively expanding its illegal occupation.
