Syrian president discusses situation in Suwayda with provincial delegation

By Omar Alothmani and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met on Tuesday with a delegation from Suwayda province in the south of the country to discuss national and local issues, local media said.

The state news agency SANA said the delegation meeting Sharaa included Suwayda Governor Mustafa Al-Bakour and severa activists.

SANA, citing the Telegram channel of the Suwayda governor’s office, said attendees “exchanged discussions on significant national and local matters.”

The meeting “reflects the importance of this historical phase in Syria’s journey, during which free Syrians aspire to a nation governed by justice, law, and fair representation for all segments of Syrian society, despite the difficult regional and international circumstances and the conspiracies being plotted against Syria’s unity – both its land and its people," SANA said.

Syria’s Druze community resides in Suwayda province, along with parts of the capital Damascus, and its countryside, as well as areas in the southern Quneitra province and Idlib countryside in the north.

Tensions flared in Jaramana, near Damascus, earlier this month due to clashes involving an armed militia refusing to disarm.

Tuesday’s meeting came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army to “prepare to protect” what they described as the Druze community in southern Syria.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period on Jan. 29.