Members of the displaced tribes from Sweida Governorate accused Druze leader Hikmat al-Hajri of forming an "armed sectarian body" under the name "National Guard." They pointed out that it includes remnants of the former regime, officers implicated in the bloodshed of Syrians, drug dealers, and leaders of kidnapping and murder gangs, some of whom are wanted by international justice.
In a statement obtained by Zaman al-Wasl, the tribesmen said that al-Hajri publicly admitted that this formation is supervised by "specialists and officers" and receives direct support from the Israeli occupation. He also praised the establishment of the so-called "Suwayda Supreme Legal Committee," considering it a first step toward the project of a "Druze state" and secession from Syria.
The statement indicated that al-Hajri appealed to the international community to support this project and to work toward declaring Sweida a "separate region," a move the tribesmen described as a direct threat to the country's unity.
The tribesmen held al-Hajri and his militias responsible for the massacres that took place in Sweida, including "the killing of children, women, and the elderly, the burning of homes, the looting of property, the theft of livestock, and the mutilation of corpses." They also called on the Syrian government, the guarantor states, and the international community to take immediate action to halt the "sectarian separatist" project led by al-Hajri with foreign support.
The statement added that al-Hajri presents himself as a "peace advocate," while his "bloody crimes reveal his true nature." They emphasized that the tribesmen will not give up their lands, homes, and livelihoods.
The tribesmen demanded the immediate release of all abductees and the disclosure of the fate of the disappeared. They held al-Hajri and his militias "fully responsible for the displacement, killing, and theft." They also called on the Syrian state, the guarantor states, and the international community to take immediate action to halt the "sectarian separatist" project led by al-Hajri with foreign support. The statement concluded by stressing that "the blood of the martyrs will not be in vain," and that "the hour of reckoning is inevitably coming," reiterating the commitment to a Syria "united in land and people."
Zaman Al-Wasl
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