CNN
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Syria strongly condemned foreign intervention in the country following the unusual Israeli strike near Damascus on Wednesday amid deadly sectarian violence.
Syria said the Israeli strike killed at least one security guard and injured several others.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli troops said they had taken a strike on the outskirts of Syrian capital.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation in the southwest Sanaya town of Damascus is a “warning lawsuit” against unidentified armed groups “preparing to attack an obscure population.”
Syrian Foreign Ministry responded with an “unwavering commitment” to protecting all Syrians, including the “honorable Druze community.”
According to Syrian state communications agency SANA, Syrian government forces launched a wide range of operations to arrest “banned gangs” in areas around Sanaya after an unidentified armed group attacked a Syrian government checkpoint late Tuesday, causing injury to three officers.
Other groups simultaneously fired civilians and security vehicles from nearby areas. Recent violence has killed at least 11 people and injured dozens.
Syrian Muslim clergy cleric Osama al-Rifai asks all Syrians to stay calm and not escalate the situation.
“Everyone has to… step away from calls for revenge and retaliation and allow justice to take the course,” Lifai said in a statement Wednesday that Sana cited “recent events” in Sanaya.
Two local journalists in Damascus spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity that the Sahnaya clash broke out between fighters loyal to the Syrian government and Druze minority militias.
Since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad regime, Israel has established itself as a guardian of Syrian Druze, an Arab community that exists primarily in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, following its derivatives of Islam. While a few Druzes have welcomed Israeli overtures, noting the new regime led by former jihadists, many others have publicly condemned them.
A considerable number of druzes live within Israel’s internationally recognized borders, possessing Israeli citizenship and serving the military. The height of the Israeli occupied Golan also has a large Syrian Druze population, most rejecting Israeli citizenship and traditionally do not serve the Israeli army. Within Syria, many druzes live in the south of the country, some of which were declared buffer zones by Israel after Assad’s collapse.
“This anniversary for fallen Israeli soldiers underscores our commitment to protecting Syrian brothers in order to respect the contribution of the Druze community to Israel’s security,” the joint statement added.
Israeli officials also urged the Syrian government to prevent harm to the Druze community.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli forces said three Syrian Druze citizens had evacuated to Israel for treatment after being injured in Syria.
Syrian UN envoy, Gaia Pedersen, expressed deep concern in a statement Wednesday that “unacceptable violence in Syria, particularly in the outskirts of Damascus,” and that he “warns reports of Israeli attacks.”
“These attacks must cease,” Pedersen said, sought “full respect for Syrian sovereignty.”
The ground situation remains unstable, and residents tell CNN that Sanaya continues to witness sporadic collisions and intermittent attacks by unidentified local groups, including mortar fires and medium caliber machine guns. Escalating efforts by government officials and community mediators are ongoing, several residents in the area told CNN.
