Syrian president condemns Israel’s attacks on Damascus and vows to protect Druze community

Ahmed al-Sharaa thanks American, Arab and Turkish mediators as efforts to restore order in city of Sweida continue

Syria’s interim president has condemned Israel for “wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities” after the Israeli military struck Damascus on Wednesday as it sought to intervene in clashes between the Syrian army and Druze fighters.

Israel’s strikes would have pushed “matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate”, Ahmed al-Sharaa said in his first televised statement since the attacks.