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

<p>Ahmed al-Sharaa thanks American, Arab and Turkish mediators as efforts to restore order in city of Sweida continue</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/17/syrian-president-condemns-israels-attacks-on-damascus-and-vows-to-protect-druze-community">Continue reading...</a>