Latest news with #BasharAl-Assad
Kuwait Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Syria agrees to help locate missing Americans: US envoy
DAMASCUS: Syria's new authorities have agreed to help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing in the country, a US envoy said on Sunday, in another sign of thawing bilateral ties. The announcement came a day after the United States formally lifted sanctions on Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic freeze. Relations have steadily improved since former president Bashar Al-Assad was overthrown last December. 'The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and returning USA citizens or their remains,' US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack wrote on X, describing it as a 'powerful step forward'. 'The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have closure,' he added, referring to American citizens who had gone missing or been killed during Syria's devastating civil war that erupted in 2011. Tice was working as a freelance journalist for Agence France-Presse, The Washington Post, and other outlets when he was detained at a checkpoint in August 2012. Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American psychotherapist, was believed to have died after being detained under the Assad government in 2017. Mueller was an aid worker kidnapped by the Islamic State group, which announced her death in February 2015, saying she was killed in a Jordanian air strike, a claim disputed by US authorities. 'President (Donald) Trump has made it clear that bringing home USA citizens or honoring, with dignity, their remains is a major priority everywhere,' said Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey. 'The new Syrian Government will aid us in this commitment,' he added. Americans killed by IS A Syrian source aware of the talks between the two countries told AFP there were 11 other names on Washington's list, all of them Syrian-Americans. The source added that a Qatari delegation began this month, at Washington's request, a search mission for the remains of American hostages killed by IS. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile said that 'the Qatari delegation is still searching in Aleppo province for the bodies of American citizens executed by IS'. Two US journalists, James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, were videotaped in 2014 being beheaded by a militant who spoke on camera with a British accent. El Shafee Elsheikh, a jihadist from London, was found guilty in 2022 of hostage-taking and conspiracy to murder US citizens — Foley and Sotloff, as well as aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. The formal lifting of US sanctions also coincided with Syria's new authorities reshuffling their interior ministry to include fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling, as they seek to improve ties with the West. The lifting of sanctions paves the way for reconstruction efforts in the war-torn country, where authorities are relying on foreign assistance to help foot the enormous cost of rebuilding. The sanctions relief is on condition that Syria does not provide a safe haven for terrorist organizations and ensures security for religious and ethnic minorities, the US Treasury Department said. Trump shook hands with Syria's jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa earlier this month during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Al-Sharaa in Turkey Barrack's statement comes a day after he met Al-Sharaa, in Istanbul, during his third visit to Turkey since the fall of Al-Assad. The Syrian presidency said on Sunday that Al-Sharaa and his accompanying delegation met with Turkish officials in Ankara, including Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and financial officials. Yilmaz said in a statement that they discussed 'deepening our economic cooperation in the new period', adding that his country will 'continue to provide all kinds of support to the Syrian people in their peace, development and reconstruction process'. As part of Syria's efforts to strengthen its institutions, the interior ministry appointed new security chiefs in 12 provinces on Sunday. It did not say how the chiefs were chosen nor did it share much information about them, but the list includes former security officials in Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Al-Sharaa-led group that spearheaded the December offensive. The new authorities faced criticism when military appointments in December included six foreign fighters. After meeting Al-Sharaa in Riyadh this month, US President Donald Trump demanded that 'foreign terrorists' leave Syria. Damascus had previously told Washington in a letter that it would 'freeze the promotions of foreign fighters' and form a committee to review previous promotions, according to a Syrian source with knowledge of the letter. The source requested anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the media on the topic. — AFP
Memri
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Qatar Incites Renewal Of Arab Spring, Hopes For Fall Of 'Tyrannical' Arab Regimes, Especially Egyptian Regime
In the recent months, and especially since the downfall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria in December 2024, the Qatari press, both Qatar-based and London-based, has published articles and cartoons encouraging the renewed outbreak of protests and uprising like those of the Arab Spring, but even more intensive and violent, that would lead to the collapse of the Arab regimes, in particular the regime of Egypt. The articles claim that the factors that led to the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010 – including dire economic and social conditions, injustice, inequality and tyranny – still hold in most of the Arab countries and have even increased. These factors are therefore bound to provoke another wave of the Arab Spring, even more forceful than the previous one, which will topple the 'tyrannical regimes' in the Arab countries. The articles claim further that the fall of the Assad regime has sparked new hope in the hearts of the peoples and serves as a lesson to the tyrants who think that "they own the country and the people' and believe themselves to be 'exempt from accountability and punishment.' The resurgence of the Arab Spring, they say, is 'inevitable' and will be like a "raging flood' that will 'sweep [the tyrants] away into the trashcan of history.' The articles hint especially at the need to overthrow the Egyptian regime, by making suggestive references to 'Pharaohs,' to Tahrir Square (the name of the Cairo square that was the epicenter of the protests against the Mubarak regimes in 2011), to 'tyrannical military regimes,' hinting at the regime of Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi, and to the deteriorating economic situation.[1] Similar messages were conveyed on social media by journalists, public-opinion shapers and others in Qatar. Cartoon in Qatari daily: "The new Arab Spring" is reemerging from the grave (Al-Watan, Qatar, December 11, 2024) In this context it is important to note that the Qatari regime, which encouraged and fanned the flames of the Arab Spring protests that began in 2010, especially by means of its Al-Jazeera Network, is itself highly despotic, and even abolished parliamentary elections in the country recently.[2] This report presents the discourse in Qatar on the hope for a resurgence of the Arab Spring after the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria. Articles In Qatari Press: The New Arab Spring, Which Is Imminent, Will Be More Violent Than The Previous One And Will Topple The Tyrants As mentioned, since the fall of the Assad regime, the Qatari press, both within the country and outside it, has published many articles claiming that the causes of the Arab Spring are still in place and predicting that the fall of the Assad regime would reignite the Arab Spring in additional Arab countries and lead to the ouster of their 'tyrannical regimes.' Qatari Economist: The Factors That Caused The Arab Spring Have Only Grown Stronger; It Will Re-erupt In Full Force And Sweep The Tyrants Into The Trashcan Of History In an article titled 'The Pharoah Family and the Arab Spring – Is the [Arab] Spring Dead?', published in two Qatari dailies – Al-Arabi Al-Jadid and Al-Sharq – in early March 2025, Qatari economist Khalid Bin Rashed Al-Khater wrote that the factors that led to the Arab Spring are still in place, and have in fact intensified, and are therefore likely to cause a new Arab Spring, more violent than the previous one. He wrote: 'Whoever thinks the Arab Spring is over is mistaken and should think again. The proof is what transpired in Syria; the causes of the [Arab] Spring are still there and we await the next location… 'The causes of the next [Arab] Spring are valid, and when the conditions are ripe and the circumstances are fitting, [we will discover] that what we have seen of it was not the end but the beginning, and its first wave, which may be followed by waves unlike those that came before, each more powerful than the last, like rain that pours down relentlessly and [gives rise to] stronger plants and a better and more glorious spring. Whoever thinks that the Arab Spring was buried alive by the military oppression or the plots hatched with the West and the East is mistaken. On the contrary, the oppression is [just] a test, a preparation, a price that must be paid and a phase that must be experienced in advance of what is to come… Will the price be high and the change be difficult? Or will the lesson of the Syrian experience be learned, making [the trials] less difficult and easier to swallow?... 'What occurred in Syria is a lesson for the tyrants, but the Pharoah mentality is immutable… The Pharoah family seems to suffer from a particular syndrome – the Pharoah Syndrome or mental blindness, also called a 'disconnect from reality' – which tyrants contract sooner or later, as exemplified by Pharoah, Nimrod [a tyrant mentioned in the Bible and the Quran], [Muammar] Gaddafi, Bashar [Al-Assad] and others who cleave to their throne and only death can remove them from it. These are people whose arrogance and vanity cause them mental blindness and who think that they own the country and the people… and that they are exempt from accountability and punishment… 'The members of the Pharoah family are numerous. Oh how numerous they are in our time… [When I say Pharoah] the reference is clearly not just to Pharoah of Moses's time, for there are many pharaohs and tyrants like him [today], some of whom may have spilled more blood than he did, sowed devastation and destruction and tyrannized the Muslims. But it is Pharoah who represents them and he is their role model and their leader… Every despot who rules tyrannically and sows devastation and destruction everywhere, like Pharoah did, is a member of the Pharoah dynasty … 'The Arab Spring is not dead and shouldn't be dead, because the reasons for it are still alive and have even deepened. The corrupt regimes have increased their corruption and tyranny and the condition of the peoples has deteriorated. At the same time, [the peoples] have become more aware and grown in conviction, and know how to extricate themselves [from tyranny]. And whoever bets on his ability to stop them from doing so when they really want to is like one who futilely stands in the path of a raging flood that will sooner or later will sweep him away into the trashcan of history. There is no way back and no other option for these [tyrants, who must either] enact reforms or step down… 'The fear is that an Arab Spring will arrive, more violent than the previous one, as a natural reaction to: the counter-coups, the regimes' barbaric repression of the [Arab Spring's] first wave, the absence of solutions, the loss of hope, the worsening of the political and economic situation and the forcing of more debt on the state than it can endure – so much so that [the state] has shackled its own sovereignty to the long economic arm of the old Western imperialism and to a policy that pretends to be reform but in fact [only] adds fuel to the fire and makes the bad [situation] even worse. 'According to the literature on political economy, nations rise up when they see that the benefits of rebelling are greater than the benefits of refraining from doing so. The deeper the peoples' plight and despair, the stronger the motives for rebellion and the greater and more promising its anticipated rewards. In any case, the wheel of time does not turn back. There may be a delay or difficulties, and money may play some role or other, but it will not stop [the rebellion] as long as the conditions are present and the circumstances are right… 'The time for everything is inscribed in the Book'[3] and indeed this is the nation of the Quran and it shall not perish…'[4] Cartoon in Qatari daily: 'The despotic regimes' are on the brink of collapse (Al-Watan, Qatar, December 24, 2024) Article In Qatari Daily: Most Of The Despotic Arab Regimes Will Go The Way Of The Assad Regime; This Is Inevitable In his December 25, 2024 column in the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, titled 'The Renewed Waves of the Arab Spring after the Fall of the Regime of the Tyrant Bashar Al-Assad,' columnist Nabil Al-Sahli likewise predicted that Assad's downfall would reignite the Arab Spring and sweep away tyrannical regimes of most Arab countries. He wrote: 'The recent overthrow of the despotic Bashar Al-Assad regime by the Syrian people strongly gives rise to several questions, chiefly: Will the squares of change and freedom[5] in most Arab countries see a second wave of the Arab Spring that will sweep away the despotic military regimes? Especially given that the phenomena of poverty and want, and the absence of justice, dignity and citizen [rights] are still prevalent… 'Those who follow [the events] see that the iron fist of the regimes that have ruled most of the Arab countries for decades is growing heavier. But the gravest thing is that, in the past decade, these countries have begun to rely, extensively and prominently, on sectarian militias and gangs, either local or cross-border ones, at the expense of the state institutions… "Arab and other Third World countries spend more on the military sphere than on economic and social development, infrastructure, job-creation, education, healthcare, scientific research and other areas… Most of the Arab peoples are collapsing under the sword of exile, poverty and want. This is in addition to the rising rates of ignorance and to the growing loss of Arab capital and human capital that goes to Western countries like the U.S. and the countries of Europe. [These countries] have strong and developed economies, whereas the external debt of Arab countries reached more than $1.5 trillion in 2023. All these dreary indications are an earthquake caused by the tyrannical Arab regimes that rule the Arab peoples. As a result, the recent fall of the regime of the tyrant Bashar Al-Assad is bound to be followed by new and wide-ranging waves of Arab Spring, in demand of justice, freedom and dignity, until the tyrannical regimes are overthrown. This is the inevitable future…'[6] Cartoon in Qatari daily: "The fate of dictators throughout history" (Al-Watan, Qatar, January 14, 2025) Qatari Journalist: The Course-Correction Of The Arab Spring Is Starting Again In Syria On December 12, 2024, shortly after the downfall of the Assad regime, Qatari journalist Abdallah Al-Amadi, a columnist for the Al-Sharq daily, wrote that the course-correction of the Arab Spring had begun, and referred to this as 'the return of [the Prophet] Muhammad's army to disseminate justice': '…Significant historical events such as these – the most recent of which was the fall of the Syrian regime – are ultimately a natural result [of the circumstances], even if they exact heavy prices. These are the rules or the norms of clash or struggle between truth and falsehood. The Arab Spring revolutions, which started a decade ago, conformed to these norms. Even if they were met with violent counterrevolutions, and went off track in all the countries where they occurred, we must [still] take the path of truth, which necessarily defeats falsehood and its army. Muhammad's army will surely return to disseminate justice, with Allah's help. It seems that the train of the Arab Spring, which started its journey in Tunisia, continued to Libya, Egypt and Yemen and broke down in Syria, is now starting again, perhaps taking a longer and wider [route]. This is a journey of strengthening and correction. A journey that begins in Syria this time, after the ember of the uprising against injustice, aggression and tyranny was ignited in the blessed land [i.e., in Palestine after the October 7 attack on Israel].'[7] Article In Qatari Daily: Assad's Ouster Will Spark A New Wave Of Revolutions In The Arab World Al-Arabi Al-Jadid columnist Bassel Saleh wrote in a similar vein in a December 18, 2024 column titled "Will Assad's Downfall Restart the Arab Spring?". He argued that this development had breached the dam, allowing "the river of the popular Arab revolution" to complete its journey across the Arab world: "What happened on the night of December 8, 2024, namely the flight of the deposed president Bashar Al-Assad following the collapse of what remained of his regime… took us back to the moment when the regimes were struggling against the momentum of the Arab Spring before the eyes and ears of the entire world… The task that was completed last week [i.e., Assad's ouster]… was the spark that renewed that momentum and took us back in time, specifically to that revolutionary moment just before the regime's forces managed to reverse the equation in their favor and launch their counter-coup, thus declaring the end of the spreading popular Arab revolution. "The ouster of the Assad regime today breaches the impenetrable dam that prevented the river of the popular Arab revolution from completing its journey, both within Syria and across the Arab [world]. So the picture we see today seems [to capture the precise] moment at which the dam burst and the river resumed its natural course. At such a moment the current is so abnormally [strong] that it is impossible to withstand. This moment, which has revived the hope in the hearts of the peoples, may provide a historic opportunity to increase the current, which will naturally become a new revolutionary wave, especially if it produces a spark that returns the Arab peoples to the moment of the [Arab] Spring…"[8] Article In Qatari Daily: The Egyptians Can't Endure The Present Regime For Even One More Day Amid fears that the toppling of the Assad regime would inspire the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to attempt the overthrow of the Egyptian regime, Muhammad Tolba Radwan, a columnist for the Qatari daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, wrote under the title "On the Next Revolution in Egypt": "Everyone is talking about revolution, about a protest movement and about deposing the current regime in favor of 'some future or other.' Imagine! [Even] the unknown has become better than the current reality, because it can't [possibly] be worse for anyone, with the possible exception of some people who benefit [from the present state of affairs] – and even they are talking… about the possibility of a revolution. The [regime] loyalists talk about this out of fear; the oppositionists talk about it wanting [to realize it], and the families of the [political] detainees talk about it hoping to see their [loved ones] released… The Egyptians, hostage to the reality of their lives, are [all] talking about this, hoping for salvation… "Can Egypt withstand a revolution today? Perhaps not, but neither can it stand to see the present regime endure for [even one more] day. Its enforced persistence means that Egypt's material and moral reserves are dwindling from day to day, and systematic destruction [continues]… This absurdity must end immediately. Nobody can claim to be a patriot while asking to preserve the current regime. It's one or the other: either Egypt or the current regime. That is the equation right now, which was not created by the enemies of the regime, but by the regime's own conduct, for the present Egyptian regime is its own worst enemy…"[9] Al-Jazeera Presenter: Tyrannical Arab Regimes That Will Not Reconcile With Their Peoples Will Meet A Fate Similar To Assad's On December 9, 2024, the day after the downfall of the Assad regime, Ahmad Mansour, a presenter and producer on the Al-Jazeera network, shared on his X account a picture of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and wrote: "The Al-Aqsa Flood, released by Yahya Al-Sinwar on October 7, 2023, will topple many more statues after that if Bashar Al-Assad, and change the face of the region."[10] In another post, he shared a video of prisoners being released from a Syrian jail and commented: "This is a historic opportunity for the Arab tyrants, who fill their prisons with reformists and dissidents who oppose their corrupt regimes, to voluntarily open the gates of the prisons, release the detainees and reconcile with their people before they meet the same fate as Assad: to be driven out [and wander] the world without shelter or refuge."[11] In a third post he shared photos of Assad regime's Sednaya prison, notorious for the torture and abuses that took place in it, and commented that "the tyrannical Arab regimes have dozens of such prisons, where tens of thousands of reformists and oppositionists are held in conditions no better than those endured by the oppositionists against the sectarian regime in Syria. If the tyrants do not hurry up and correct their mistakes, release the detainees and reconcile with their peoples, their fate will not be much different from that of Assad."[12] One of Mansour's posts * Z. Harel is a research fellow at MEMRI.
Leaders
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
Morocco, Syria to Reopen Embassies after 13-Year Closure
Morocco said that it would reopen its embassy in Damascus to support the Syrian state after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad, according to AFP. The announcement was made by the Moroccan Foreign Minister at the Arab League summit in Baghdad after receiving a letter from King Mohammed VI to Syria's interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Morocco backed the Syrian people 'in their quest for freedom, security, and stability,' according to the letter. The Foreign Ministry stated that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani held a meeting with his Moroccan Counterpart Nasser Bourita on the sidelines of the Arab summit and that 'the two sides agreed to establish bilateral diplomatic relations.' Moreover, Syria will also 'begin procedures to reopen its embassy in Rabat.' In 2012, Rabat cut diplomatic ties with Damascus in the light of the Syrian civil war which began in 2011. Since the fall of Al-Assad in December, the new Syrian government has been attempting to build strong relations with Western countries in order to alleviate the harsh sanctions of US and its allies imposed during Asaad's rule. Importantly, the US and the UK have recently lifted sanctions on Syria, allowing the new government to build its economy and achieve the aspirations of Syrians. Currently, the new government seeks to restore relations with Western and Arab countries as well as establishing new diplomatic relations to boost its stability and security. Related Topics: Crown Prince, U.S. President, Syrian President Discuss Syria's Future Qatar to Support Syria, Pay Syrian Salaries Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Strike Near Syrian Presidential Palace Short link : Post Views: 17
Kuwait Times
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Zionists strike near Syria's presidential palace in Damascus
DAMASCUS: Zionists bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday, in its clearest warning yet to Syria's new Islamist-led authorities of its readiness to ramp up military action in the name of the country's Druze minority. Syria's government called the bombing a 'dangerous escalation' amid increasing hostility between the neighbors. Zionist entity has escalated military operations in Syria since rebels ousted Bashar Al-Assad in December, with bombings across the country and ground forces entering its southwest, while calling for Syria to remain decentralized and isolated. It has framed its stance around its suspicion of interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa - who once headed a branch of al Qaeda before renouncing ties to the group in 2016 - and a desire to protect the Druze, a minority sect that is an offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Zionist entity. The Zionist military said troops were deployed in southern Syria to prevent the return of hostile forces to areas around Druze villages. It said forces were ready for defense and 'various scenarios'. It added that five Syrian-Druze citizens were evacuated to receive medical treatment after sustaining wounds. Earlier, military said it struck an area 'adjacent' to Sharaa's palace in Damascus, without further details. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The strike was 'a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow (Syrian) forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community', Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister I Katz said in a joint statement. Syria's presidency condemned what it described as a 'bombardment on the presidential palace' and said it marked a 'dangerous escalation'. '(Zionist entity) doesn't want peace. Nor does it care for the groups it purportedly protects by bombing others,' Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Razan Saffour wrote on X, adding Zionist entity had never bombed near the palace when Assad was in power. A Syrian official told Reuters the target was about 100 meters east of the palace's perimeter. It followed days of clashes in Syria between Sunni Muslim and Druze gunmen triggered by a voice recording purportedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed. The fighting killed more than two dozen people in towns around Damascus and prompted an initial 'warning strike' on a town on the capital's outskirts that killed one member of Syria's security forces. Zionist opposition parties expressed support for operations in Syria. '(Zionist entity) cannot abandon the Druze in Syria to their fate,' centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid said on the social media platform X. 'The Syrian regime must know they are our allies and we will not stand by while they are attacked.' This week's fighting posed the latest challenge for Sharaa, who has repeatedly vowed to unite all of Syria's armed forces under one structure and govern the country, fractured by 14 years of civil war until Assad's overthrow, in an inclusive way. But incidents of sectarian violence, notably the killing of hundreds of pro-Assad Alawites in March, have hardened fears among minority groups about the now-dominant Islamists and sparked condemnation from global powers. On Thursday, the clashes began spreading further south to the province of Sweida, which is predominantly Druze. 'Don't need anyone's protection' Late on Thursday, Druze community leaders and Syrian government officials met in Sweida in a bid to defuse tensions. Their concluding statement said residents of Sweida would protect their province as a part of Syria's internal security forces, and rejected 'division, separation or secession'. 'Syria is our mother nation, we do not have an alternative country,' Sheikh Laith al-Balous, one of the Druze leaders in the meeting, told Syria TV in an interview when asked whether Zionist airstrikes on Syria were meant to protect the Druze. 'We don't need anyone's protection.' Syrian security forces were patrolling the village of Al-Soura al-Kubra in Sweida province on Friday, where residents had fled clashes the previous day between approaching Sunni Islamist militants and Druze fighters defending the town. Residents told Reuters that when they returned, they found their homes had been looted. Salman Olaiwi said his door had been broken down and money was missing, but that he was glad an agreement had been reached to end the fighting. Zionist entity has a small Druze community and there are also some 24,000 Druze living in the occupied Golan Heights, which Zionists captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. Zionists annexed the territory in 1981, a move that has not been recognized by most countries or the United Nations. Some Druze in Zionist entity serving in the military wrote to Netanyahu demanding help for their kin in Syria, saying 'hundreds of fighters' were ready to volunteer to help. — Reuters
Kuwait Times
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Kuwait: Zionist attacks on Syria a blatant violation of sovereignty
Kuwait urges international action against repeated Zionist entity crimes in the region KUWAIT: Kuwait strongly condemned the Zionist entity's airstrike that targeted the area surrounding the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, in a blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday. The Zionist entity has escalated its attacks on Syria since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad in December, with bombings across the country and ground forces entering its southwest, while calling for Syria to remain decentralized and isolated. Zionist leaders have also repeatedly issued threats against the new Syrian president Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whom they view as a threat to their borders. Syria was not spared from Zionist bombing when the country was governed by Al-Assad, with the entity claiming its attacks at the time were targeting Iranian bases. 'Justifying such attacks under security pretexts does not legitimize any violation of a country's sovereignty,' said Kuwait's foreign ministry. Damascus, Hama and Daraa were also hit by Zionist strikes on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The strikes on Damascus countryside killed one civilian and injured four others in Hama, SANA added. The Zionist military confirmed the attacks on Saturday, saying its forces 'struck a military site, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria' without giving further details or any evidence. The strikes come after more than 100 people were killed during fighting between pro-government forces and Druze fighters in Syria. Zionist leaders have framed their attacks on Syria around accusations that it has failed to protect its Druze community. Late on Thursday, Druze community leaders and Syrian government officials met in Sweida in a bid to defuse tensions. Their concluding statement said residents of Sweida would protect their province as a part of Syria's internal security forces, and rejected 'division, separation or secession'. 'Syria is our mother nation, we do not have an alternative country,' Sheikh Laith al-Balous, one of the Druze leaders in the meeting, told Syria TV in an interview when asked whether the Zionist entity's strikes on Syria were meant to protect the Druze. 'We don't need anyone's protection.' The Zionist military continues to occupy parts of Syria, including the Golan Heights, despite international condemnation. Kuwait reaffirmed its unwavering stance in support of the unity of Syria and the integrity of its territories. It called on the international community to shoulder its legal and humanitarian responsibilities to halt the repeated violations and crimes committed by the Zionist entity occupation in the region, which threaten the security and stability of the area. — Agencies
