The leader of the Syrian community calls for international investigation into violence

• Sheikh Al-Hijji called for an international investigation into racism.
• The violence occurred between the militias of the Druze and the Bedouins.
• The conference in Hasake discussed decentralization and a new constitution.

Damascus, Syria — The spiritual leader of the Syrian Druze community, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijji, called on Saturday for an international investigation into the violence that occurred last month and resulted in the deaths of dozens of people in southern Syria.

Al-Hijji, whose fighters clashed with pro-Iranian militants in the Suwayda province, also expressed gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as Israel and Arab countries of the Persian Gulf for their support against racism.

The violence lasted several days, beginning in July, between the Druze militias and local Sunni Bedouins. Government forces intervened, not to restore order, but actually sided with the Bedouins against the Druze.

Israel intervened to protect the Druze, launching strikes against government forces and even targeting the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in central Damascus. The Druze constitute a significant community in Israel, where they are considered a loyal minority, often serving in the Israeli army.

Al-Hijji called for an international independent investigation and insisted that the guilty be referred to the International Criminal Court. He also called for the dismantling of international monitoring missions to protect civilian populations.

He thanked Trump for supporting minorities and referred to Israeli intervention as "humanitarian," which, according to him, limited the scale of massacres against the Druze.

Comments by Al-Hijji were made at the conference held in Hasake, where representatives of various ethnic and religious groups in Syria gathered to formulate a decentralized state and develop a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural, and ethnic pluralism.

The government revealed this meeting and stated that among the participants were those who have separatist ambitions. As a result, the government no longer intends to return to the planned negotiations with Syrian democratic forces in Paris, which were agreed upon in early July. The date for negotiations in Paris has not yet been specified.

The state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed government source, who stated that the conference violated the agreement reached in Beirut with the Syrian democratic forces.

Tags: Middle East/Politics