arabic → English transcript

We had to enter Suwayda due to fighting between the Bedouins and local factions.

It escalated quickly and could have led to a scenario similar to the coast.

The tribal mobilization would have happened

Why? Because 50 people were killed in the clash that broke out between them.

The tribes were also being called on to aid

If we had let things be without intervening,

Then I'd be telling all Syrians to take matters into their own hands.

This contradicts the concept of the state and undermines our chance to rebuild it.

This makes us lose respect for ourselves, our people, and other nations.

So we had to intervene, and when we did, we spared no effort.

We spoke with the Mashayekh al-Aql and with the faction leaders.

Personally, Sheikh Abu al-Baraa, even Sheikh Abu Muhammad

Brothers from the Foreign Ministry, brothers from the Defense Ministry

Everyone in Suwayda, we told them we had to go in to stop this.

You can't solve it among yourselves because you are two local parties.

You are in conflict, and there has been bloodshed between you, and not just any.

More than 30-40 killed and more than 120 wounded in one day, in 24 hours.

We couldn't remain silent, so we coordinated

We issued official statements, as did the Interior and Defense Ministries.

That we were entering to break up the conflict.

Unfortunately, we entered through the area of factions theoretically aligned with us.

Al-Hijri, I got his word on the entry, and he issued a statement about it.

And he said, "We call for it, we call for it."

Ten minutes later, he released a video saying the opposite.

And this led to our men, the ones entering, being ambushed.

And they were killed by the Defense Ministry.

I think 16-17 in the initial entry, and four or five were captured by Security.

We had no choice but to deal with the gang decisively.

And we did take control of the city in less than three hours.

We gave direct orders for the army to evacuate the city.

The army was out of the city in less than an hour.

When we began deploying security units, from internal security or military police.

A massive bombing campaign began, a direct intervention by Israeli aircraft.

It led to the martyrdom of dozens of our young men.

Dozens of our young men were wounded and taken out of service.

And we were unable to establish control over the province.

This created a vacuum that was exploited by the corrupt and by gangs.

who were already in the province.

And unfortunately, due to the absence of state authority…

was a haven for all the gangs.

Neither regime remnants, nor drug dealers, nor ISIS cells.

Unfortunately, of course, because there was no authority.

There were multiple authorities and rival factions.

So we had to confront all of this when we entered.

As we entered, we fought the remnants of the regime.

Well-known officers from the regime.

ISIS members blew themselves up among us as we passed.

There were also drug gangs wanted on international lists.

They were present inside Suwayda.

And regrettably, they were protected by this flawed situation that existed.

It was God's will.

When the political leadership saw this incursion,

they stopped it by prioritizing the public interest.

and to protect the institution's members and the people of Syria.

and not let it escalate further.

Israel's intervention in the situation

was an intervention that greatly complicated the situation regionally.

and even internationally.

Major mediations came into play,

whether from local or regional states.

We reached an agreement to a ceasefire.

and to redeploy in the province.

We gave a very clear warning.

We warned all nations that the withdrawal of the army's institutions…

from the province would lead to a much worse scenario.

much worse than what happened.

by entering.

And our words were crystal clear

with them. Despite that,

we could only reach this agreement.

When we withdrew, what we had warned about is exactly what happened.

The tribes panicked and everything descended into chaos.

And resolving the issue required a greater cost.

that we have paid for

and that our innocent people paid for,

whether from the Bedouins or our people in Suwayda.

Unfortunately.

Thankfully, today we have reached this scenario

where we managed to stop the bloodshed.

And we were able to contain the crisis.

And this, after God Almighty, is thanks to...

the blood of the martyrs from the military institution

and security forces.

And thanks to the efforts of the heroic fighters

who are sitting here.

Therefore, we have a very great responsibility.

The pain is immense.

And the amount of incitement.

The young men we lost were our own flesh and blood.