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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday blasted Israel for attempting to 'divide Syria' and threatened to intervene in the country to prevent what he called a 'direct threat' to Ankara's national security.
'If the groups in Syria move towards division and destabilization, Turkey will consider it a direct threat to its national security and will intervene,' Hakan Fidan said in a joint presser with his El Salvadoran counterpart in Ankara. 'Israel, which does not want to see a stable country in the region, aims to divide Syria.'
Fighting erupted in Syria's southern Druze-majority Suwayda province between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes on June 13, leading to a regional crisis as Israel intervened in support of the Druze, striking several targets, including Syrian state forces and an airstrike on the defense ministry building in Damascus.
'Discuss anything you want, make whatever demands you have, Turkey is willing to assist, but if you go beyond that, we will not allow ourselves to remain under threat,' Fidan asserted.
He further condemned Israel's regional policy as one that is aimed at 'weakening the region and keeping it in chaos.'
At least 1,265 people have been killed in the violence in Suwayda, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A Washington-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Syria was announced on Saturday by US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, with the truce seemingly holding. The Druze are in control of the province while Syrian government forces are guarding the entrance to prevent Sunni fighters' entry in a bid to avoid further tensions.
Three ceasefires between Damascus and the Druze fighters have failed since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December.
While Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to form an 'inclusive transitional government that would reflect Syria's diversity,' he continues to face domestic and international criticism over his perceived marginalization of minority communities.
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