Syria strongly condemned foreign intervention in the country following a rare Israeli strike near Damascus on Wednesday amid deadly sectarian violence. <\/p>\n
Syria said the Israeli strike killed at least one security officer and injured several other people. <\/p>\n
Earlier on Wednesday Israel\u2019s military said it had carried out a strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital saying it was targeting an \u201cextremist group\u201d that had attacked the Druze community, a religious minority in the country. <\/p>\n
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation in the town of Sahnaya, southwest of Damascus, was a \u201cwarning action\u201d against an unidentified armed group \u201cpreparing to continue attacking the Druze population.\u201d <\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s foreign ministry reacted saying it had an \u201cunwavering commitment\u201d to protecting all Syrian people, including the \u201chonorable Druze community.\u201d <\/p>\n
According to Syria\u2019s state news agency SANA, Syrian government forces launched a wide-scale operation in the area surrounding Sahnaya to arrest \u201coutlawed gangs\u201d after an unidentified armed group attacked a Syrian government checkpoint late Tuesday, wounding three officers. <\/p>\n
Other groups simultaneously opened fire on civilian and security vehicles in nearby areas. Recent violence left at least 11 people dead and dozens injured. <\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s top Muslim cleric Osama al-Rifai has called on all Syrians to keep calm and not escalate the situation. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone must\u2026 stay away from calls for revenge and retaliation, and allow justice to take its course,\u201d Rifai said regarding the \u201crecent events,\u201d in Sahnaya,in a statement on Wednesday as cited by SANA. <\/p>\n
Since the fall of the Bashar Al Assad regime, Israel has positioned itself as the protector of Syria\u2019s Druze, an Arab community that follows an offshoot of Islam and is predominantly present across Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Wary of a new regime led by former jihadists, a small minority of Druze have welcomed Israel\u2019s overtures, but many others have publicly denounced them. <\/p>\n
A sizeable number of Druze live within Israel\u2019s internationally recognized borders, have Israeli citizenship and serve in its military. A large Syrian-Druze population is also present in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and most have rejected Israeli citizenship and do not traditionally serve in the Israeli military. Within Syria, many Druze live in the south of the country, parts of which Israel declared a buffer zone after Assad\u2019s fall. <\/p>\n
\u201cOn this Memorial Day for Israel\u2019s fallen soldiers, as we honor the Druze community\u2019s contribution to Israel\u2019s security, we stress our commitment to protect their brethren in Syria,\u201d the joint statement added. <\/p>\n
Israeli officials also urged the Syrian government to prevent harm to the Druze community. <\/p>\n
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli military said that three Syrian Druze citizens were evacuated into Israel for medical treatment after they were injured in Syria. <\/p>\n
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen has expressed his deep concern \u201cat unacceptable violence in Syria especially in suburbs of Damascus,\u201d and \u201d alarmed at reports of Israeli attacks,\u201d in a statement on Wednesday <\/p>\n
\u201d These attacks must stop,\u201d Pedersen said and called for \u201cfull respect of Syria\u2019s sovereignty.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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