Istanbul, Turkey – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Israel of using the Druze minority in Syria as a pretext for expanding into the war-torn country.
“At this stage, the biggest problem in our region is Israel’s aggression… If the monster is not stopped immediately, it will not hesitate to throw first our region, then the world, into flames.”
The Druze heartland province of Sweida in the south of Syria has been gripped by deadly sectarian bloodshed since Sunday, with hundreds reportedly killed in clashes pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes and the army and its allies.
Israel had hammered government troops with air strikes during their brief deployment to the southern province and also struck the military headquarters in Damascus, warning that its strikes would intensify until the Islamist-led government pulled back.
The United States — a close ally of Israel that has been trying to reboot its relationship with Syria — said an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area.
Erdogan said he had spoken with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa by telephone on Thursday after Syrian troops pulled out of Sweida.
