A prominent Druze leader in southern Syria demanded on Monday the creation of a separate region for his minority community, as he seeks to unite local armed factions following sectarian violence last month.
The week of bloodshed in Sweida province began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces and armed groups from other parts of Syria.
Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin.
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of three prominent Syrian Druze spiritual leaders, said Monday that the violence "sought to eliminate us as a Druze sect".
He called on "all free countries and people, to stand with us as the Druze sect in southern Syria, to announce a separate region to protect us", according to footage published by local news outlet Suwayda 24.
Hijri made the remarks at his headquarters in Qanawat, near Sweida city, during a reception for a delegation from the local faction Men of Dignity.
The delegation, from one of the largest armed factions in Sweida, announced its readiness to join other groups under Hijri's command.
Last week, dozens of small factions in Sweida announced they would join a new "National Guard" group, seeking to unify military efforts under Hijri.
Hijri is the most hostile of Sweida's Druze spiritual leaders towards the transitional authorities in Damascus, who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.
Despite a ceasefire in Sweida, the situation there remains tense and access to the province is difficult, with tens of thousands of people still displaced by the recent violence.
Residents have accused the authorities of imposing a blockade, which Damascus denies, citing the entry of humanitarian convoys.
On August 16, hundreds demonstrated in Sweida calling for the right to self-determination, some waving Israeli flags.
Israel, which has its own Druze community, bombed government forces during the sectarian clashes, saying it was acting to defend the group, as well as enforce its own demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria.
Syrian authorities have consistently rejected any decentralized government or partitioning of the country.
