Demonstrations erupted Saturday in the Syrian coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartous as hundreds of Syrians took to the streets to protest Israeli military aggression and foreign meddling in domestic affairs. Protesters in Latakia denounced the Israeli air raids targeting areas in Damascus, Damascus Countryside, Hama, and Daraa, and voiced their rejection of partition plans. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), demonstrators carried banners reading, “Syria is above all… one people that cannot be divided” and “Lattakia stands with President Ahmad al-Shara in the face of aggression and treachery.”
In Tartous, similar scenes unfolded as crowds condemned two days of Israeli airstrikes and warned against efforts to fracture the nation along sectarian lines. Slogans displayed included “Stop supporting Israel in its attacks on Gaza and Syria” and “We reject foreign interference in Syria.”
Airstrikes and Sectarian Tensions Spark Regional Alarm
The Israeli military launched a series of air raids early Friday, striking multiple locations in Damascus and its outskirts, including a site near the presidential palace. Israel claimed the strikes were preemptive, aimed at “protecting the Druze,” amid clashes in the suburbs of Jaramana and Ashrafieh Sahnaya. The Syrian presidency labeled the strike a “dangerous escalation,” and several Arab countries echoed that condemnation.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, through his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, criticized Israel’s “violations of Syria’s sovereignty,” urging all parties to exercise restraint and halt further escalation. “The Secretary-General condemns all acts of violence against civilians, including those that could fuel sectarian violence,” Dujarric said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Calls for Unity Amidst Warnings of Destabilization
Following violent clashes that left dozens dead, Druze sheikhs and officials from Suwayda issued a statement rejecting any form of secession and calling for the restoration of law enforcement roles by local forces. Community leaders condemned sectarian incitement after an inflammatory audio recording circulated online, affirming their commitment to religious respect and national unity.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (IICIS) also warned that Israeli actions, combined with rising sectarian violence, threaten “Syria’s path toward a sustainable, rights-respecting peace.” The commission cited the risk of further civilian harm and displacement, and emphasized that “external interventions have often exacerbated violence and fragmentation.”
International Calls for Restraint and Legal Accountability
European Commission spokesperson Anwar al-Anuni reiterated the EU’s stance that Israel must respect Syria’s territorial integrity and the 1974 disengagement agreement concerning the Golan Heights. He criticized Israeli efforts to provoke intra-Syrian tensions under the guise of protecting minority groups.
The IICIS urged all sides to end hostilities and ensure accountability for rights violations. “Impunity for grave violations has long been a constant driver of the conflict in Syria,” the body stated, adding that only through justice and the rule of law can Syria begin to rebuild trust across its fractured society.
