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Syrian regime scrambles to defuse tensions after insult to Druze leader

The people of Suwayda in southern Syria were outraged when a Syrian army officer insulted the spiritual leader of the Druze community in the governorate, and high-ranking officials are trying to defuse the tension by offering apologies to the community.
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SAMMY KETZ
Sheikh Hikmat Hajari, a top Druze cleric, sits in his home in the southern city of Sweida on January 23, 2013. Abductions of Druze officials in Daraa were rampant in May and June of last year, prompting the inhabitants of Sweida to respond in kind, leaving behind a palpable distrust between the provinces, though Sweida hosts some 9,000 displaced people of Daraa. AFP PHOTO/ANWAR AMRO        (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

ALEPPO, Syria — During a Jan. 25 phone call to discuss the fate of Druze detainees from Suwayda held by the regime, the regional head of military intelligence for the Syrian regime, Brig. Gen. Luay al-Ali, insulted Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, prompting him to end the call. No details were provided pertaining to the nature of the insult.

The Sheikhdom of the Unitarian Druze Community in south Syria's Suwayda governorate said in a statement on Facebook, “High-ranking figures in the state offered an apology and ensured that this mistake has been mended in all its dimensions.”

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