Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted Lebanese Druze chief Walid Jumblatt on Sunday in every other effort to reassure minorities they are going to be secure after Islamist rebels led the ouster of Bashar al-Assad two weeks in the past.Sharaa mentioned no sects can be excluded in Syria in what he described as “a brand new generation some distance got rid of from sectarianism.”Sharaa heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the principle crew that compelled Assad out on Dec. 8. Some Syrians and overseas powers have frightened he might impose strict Islamic governance on a rustic with a large number of minority teams akin to Druze, Kurds, Christians and Alawites. “We take pleasure in our tradition, our faith and our Islam. Being a part of the Islamic atmosphere does now not imply the exclusion of alternative sects. To the contrary, it’s our responsibility to offer protection to them,” he mentioned right through the assembly with Jumblatt, in feedback broadcast by means of Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed. Lebanese Druze chief Walid Jumblatt walks at the day he meets with Syrian caretaker High Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, and Syria’s de facto chief Ahmed al-Sharaa, often referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 22, 2024. (credit score: REUTERS/KHALIL ASHAWI)Walid JumblattJumblatt, a veteran baby-kisser and distinguished Druze chief, mentioned on the assembly that Assad’s ouster must bring in new optimistic members of the family between Lebanon and Syria. Druze are an Arab minority who observe an offshoot of Islam.Sharaa, wearing a swimsuit and tie reasonably than the army fatigues he preferred in his riot days, additionally mentioned he would ship a central authority delegation to the southwestern Druze town of Sweida, pledging to offer services and products to its neighborhood and highlighting Syria’s “wealthy range of sects.”Searching for to allay worries about the way forward for Syria, Sharaa has hosted a large number of overseas guests in contemporary days, and has vowed to prioritize rebuilding Syria, devastated by means of 13 years of civil warfare.
