Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on March 20 that he is working to keep his country away from conflict, against the backdrop of the Middle East war, stressing that his government is on good terms with all regional countries.
In a speech delivered after the Eid al-Fitr prayer in the presidential palace in Damascus, Sharaa said: "We are calculating our steps with extreme precision and working to keep Syria away from any conflict.”
"It is important to remember that Syria has always been an arena of conflict and strife during the past 15 years and before that, but today it is in harmony with all neighboring countries regionally and internationally," he said.
He added that Syria stood "in full solidarity with the Arab states.”
After Syria had been, for all the years of the conflict that ravaged it, an arena of competition for international powers, the country has thus far remained at a distance from the regional escalation.
Syrians are seeing the war from afar, while Israel intercepts Iranian missiles passing through the skies overhead.
Still, Syria is not entirely free from violence.
Israel strikes Syrian army camps
Meanwhile, the Israeli military on March 20 announced it had struck Syrian army camps in response to what it called attacks against the Druze community in the southern Sweda province.
"Overnight, the IDF struck a headquarters and weapons at Syrian regime military camps in southern Syria," the Israeli military said.
"This was in response to yesterday's events, in which Druze civilians were attacked in the [Sweid]) area. The IDF will not allow harm to come to Druze in Syria and will continue to act for their protection."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported that clashes broke out between government forces and fighters from local tribes against opposing Druze factions in the western countryside of Sweida province.
The fighting began after mortar shells fell on areas under the control of Druze factions.
The shelling later hit residential neighborhoods in the city of Sweida, sowing panic and fear among residents, the Observatory said.
Last July, thousands of people were estimated to have been killed when clashes erupted between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes in Sweida province.
