Tensions in Syria’s Damascus countryside escalated sharply this week following a series of deadly clashes and a controversial Israeli military intervention, sparking regional warnings about the threat of partition and sectarian violence.
The violence was triggered by the leak of an audio recording insulting the Prophet Muhammad, allegedly attributed to a Druze sheikh. Though the Syrian Interior Ministry later confirmed the recording was fake, retaliatory violence erupted in Druze-majority areas including Jaramana, Sahnaya, and Ashrafieh Sahnaya, resulting in dozens of casualties. According to the Syrian Ministry of Health, 11 people were killed in Ashrafieh Sahnaya alone during armed attacks by what officials labeled as “terrorist attacks” by “outlaw groups.”
Amid this instability, the Israeli military launched multiple airstrikes inside Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz claimed the raids were meant to deter attacks against Druze civilians, calling the strikes a “warning operation” targeting “extremists.”
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that the raids, conducted by Zik drones, aimed at militants preparing attacks in Sahnaya. The Syrian Interior Ministry confirmed that at least one officer was killed in the Israeli strike on public security forces, with others wounded.
Druze Leaders Warn of ‘Israeli Plans’
However, critics see the Israeli involvement as an opportunistic move to exacerbate Syria’s internal divisions. “Either we accept a unified Syria while respecting diversity, or we will be drawn into the Israeli project,” warned former Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. Speaking after an emergency meeting of the Druze Religious Council in Beirut, Jumblatt accused Israel of exploiting sectarian tensions to provoke wider conflict and displace Druze populations near its borders.
Sheikh Sami Abi Al-Muna, Lebanon’s Druze spiritual leader, echoed these concerns. He condemned both the insulting recording and the violent responses it provoked, while warning of “a hidden hand working to fuel the conflict in Syria.” He stressed that the Druze community rejects any notion of becoming an independent entity or being drawn into conflict with Islamic sects. “We are an Arab Muslim extension,” he said, rejecting what he described as “suspicious plans by Israel.”
Political researcher Muhammad Sabra described Israel’s rhetoric about protecting the Druze as a “pretext for expanding influence” and warned of the dangers of the dangers of armed groups. “A civilian’s gun is a crime regardless of its slogan,” he said.
As of Wednesday evening, Syrian security forces announced the deployment of troops throughout Ashrafieh Sahnaya to restore order. But the damage has already rippled across the region, with Turkey warning against efforts to destabilize Syria. President Erdogan vowed to counter “any attempt to drag our neighbor Syria into a new quagmire.”
With foreign powers circling and sectarian tension simmering, Syria faces yet another test of its fragile unity.
