Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted Lebanese Druze chief Walid Jumblatt on Sunday in one other effort to reassure minorities they are going to be protected after Islamist rebels led the ouster of Bashar al-Assad two weeks in the past.
Sharaa mentioned no sects could be excluded in Syria in what he described as “a brand new period far faraway from sectarianism.”
Sharaa heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the primary group that pressured Assad out on Dec. 8. Some Syrians and overseas powers have anxious he could impose strict Islamic governance on a rustic with quite a few minority teams corresponding to Druze, Kurds, Christians and Alawites.
“We take delight in our tradition, our faith and our Islam. Being a part of the Islamic atmosphere doesn’t imply the exclusion of different sects. On the opposite, it’s our responsibility to guard them,” he mentioned in the course of the assembly with Jumblatt, in feedback broadcast by Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed.
Walid Jumblatt
Jumblatt, a veteran politician and distinguished Druze chief, mentioned on the assembly that Assad’s ouster ought to usher in new constructive relations between Lebanon and Syria. Druze are an Arab minority who observe an offshoot of Islam.
Sharaa, wearing a swimsuit and tie reasonably than the navy fatigues he favored in his insurgent days, additionally mentioned he would ship a authorities delegation to the southwestern Druze metropolis of Sweida, pledging to supply providers to its neighborhood and highlighting Syria’s “wealthy variety of sects.”
Seeking to allay worries about the way forward for Syria, Sharaa has hosted quite a few overseas guests in current days, and has vowed to prioritize rebuilding Syria, devastated by 13 years of civil warfare.
