Sweida youth reject disarmament, call for defense of land

Amid the severe escalation witnessed in Sweida, young men who have joined the ranks of local Druze military forces to repel attacks on the city and its countryside issued a call to other members of the Druze community, both domestically and abroad. They emphasized that their decision to take up arms was driven by a duty to “defend dignity and existence” in the face of security threats and what they described as “brutal attacks on civilians,” particularly in the western and northern countryside of Sweida.

Several young armed men from Sweida who had defended the city told ANHA agency, from Karama Square, that the ongoing displacement, killings, arrests, and crimes committed against women and children, especially the case of a young girl being sexually assaulted in front of her mother, cannot be tolerated. These atrocities were the primary reason they took up arms, calling on the international community to open urgent humanitarian corridors and conduct on-the-ground investigations into the conditions of afflicted villages.

One of the fighters from the “Rijal al-Karama” (Men of Dignity) group, Sheikh Abu Salman, stressed in an interview with ANHA  agency that “dignity is a red line until death.” He added that “weapons in the hands of the mountain’s sons are not for power or authority, but to protect land and honor,” asserting that those who entered Sweida disguised in the attire of the state are, in reality, “murderers and terrorists who represent only savagery and moral depravity.”

The residents urged people “not to listen to any party calling for disarmament,” pointing out that “those who slaughter our youth, burn our homes, and assault our women can only be confronted through resistance.” They affirmed that defending dignity is a religious, historical, and moral obligation; one they will not abandon under any circumstance.

A message was also directed to Druze communities around the world, urging them to stand united with their people in Sweida and to participate in defending the city, which they described as facing “a coordinated assault aimed at breaking its will and dismantling its social fabric.”

The statement concluded with an urgent appeal to human rights and humanitarian organizations, calling on them to “shoulder their ethical and humanitarian responsibility and take immediate action to stop the catastrophe before it expands and its tragedies worsen.”

A-H 

ANHA