Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa yesterday accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority, after a US intervention helped end deadly fighting between government forces and Druze fighters in the south.
Overnight, the Islamist-led government’s troops withdrew from the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where scores of people have been killed in days of conflict.
One local journalist said he had counted more than 60 bodies in the streets of Sweida yesterday morning.
Photo: AP
Ryan Marouf of Suwayda24 said he had found a family of 12 people killed in one house, including women and an elderly man.
“People are looking for bodies,” he said in a voice recording.
Violence in Syria escalated sharply on Wednesday as Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze — part of a small but influential minority that also has followers in Lebanon and Israel.
Israel, which bombed Syria frequently under the rule of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has struck the country repeatedly this year, describing its new leaders as barely disguised terrorists and saying it would not allow them to deploy forces in areas of southern Syria near its border.
Addressing Syrians yesterday, al-Sharaa accused Israel of seeking to “dismantle the unity of our people,” saying it had “consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime.”
Al-Sharaa, who was commander of an al-Qaeda faction before cutting ties with the group in 2016, said that protecting Druze citizens and their rights was “our priority” and rejected any attempt to drag them into the hands of an “external party.”
He also vowed to hold to account those who committed violations against “our Druze people.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented 193 dead in four days of fighting, among them medical personnel, women and children.
Network head Fadel Abdulghany said the figure included cases of field executions by both sides, Syrians killed by Israeli strikes and others killed in clashes, but that it would take time to break down the figures for each category.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio late on Wednesday said that the US had engaged all the parties involved and that steps had been agreed that would end “this troubling and horrifying situation.”
Al-Sharaa credited US, Arab and Turkish mediation for saving “the region from an uncertain fate.”
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS