A Kurdish official on Thursday urged Syria's new authorities to rethink their approach to the country's minorities following deadly clashes with Druze fighters in the south.
Syrian government forces withdrew from the Sweida province overnight on Wednesday following deadly clashes with Druze militants.
Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, the new authorities have faced questions over the protection of minorities amid repeated bouts of violence.
"The transitional government must undertake a comprehensive and urgent review of its approach to dealing with Syria's internal affairs and begin a serious and responsible national dialogue with all components, while respecting the privacy and cultural and religious identity of each," Bedran Ciya Kurd, a senior official in the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria, said on X.
Residents in Sweida reported abuses by Syrian government forces during the clashes, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said 83 Druze were summarily executed.
The Observatory said more than 500 people have been killed in total in the clashes. They came only a few months after more than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians were killed in Syria's coastal regions.
"The systematic violations targeting the Druze community in southern Syria and the similar violations that preceded them on the Syrian coast clearly confirm the deep rejection of cultural and religious pluralism by the transitional defense ministry and its affiliated institutions," Kurd said.
"The continuation of these practices is pushing Syria toward further fragmentation and disintegration on both the political and social levels, and is placing all Syrian components before a serious and systematic challenge."
The statement came with Damascus and the Kurdish administration yet to implement the terms of an agreement reached four months ago to integrate the autonomous administration into the Syrian government.
Last month, Kurdish forces demanded a "decentralized, democratic state", which Damascus rejected.
Syria's interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Mazloum Abdi, the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, met earlier this month alongside US envoy Tom Barrack.
Following the meeting, Damascus again rejected federalism and called on Kurdish forces to integrate into the national armed forces.
With AFP
Comments