US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday voiced concern after ally Israel struck Syria’s army headquarters and said the violence impeded efforts to bring stability to the war-torn country.
“We’re talking to both sides, all the relevant sides, on this and hopefully we can bring it to a conclusion, but we’re very concerned,” Rubio said when asked by a reporter about the Israeli strikes.
In fuller comments afterward, Rubio did not directly reference Israel but spoke of the clashes in majority-Druze city of Sweida that Israel cited for its intervention.
“We are very worried about the violence in southern Syria. It is a direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria,” Rubio said in a statement.
“We have been and remain in repeated and constant talks with the governments of Syria and Israel on this matter.”
President Donald Trump has staunchly backed Israel including in its military campaigns in Gaza and Iran.
But Trump has been prioritizing diplomacy with Syria’s new leadership, seeing an opening after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December.
Earlier in the day, Israel said it bombed Syrian army headquarters in Damascus after warning the government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland where a monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.
Syrian government forces entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday with the aim of overseeing a ceasefire agreed with Druze community leaders after clashes with local Bedouin tribes left more than 100 people dead.
However, witnesses reported that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city.
The fighting marks the most serious outbreak of violence in Syria since government forces battled Druze fighters in Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May leaving more than 100 people dead.
The authorities have had strained relations with Syria’s patchwork of religious and ethnic minorities since they toppled Bashar al-Assad in December.
