Syrian governor vows to protect Druze students following attacks

The governor of Syria’s Druze-majority province of Suweida has vowed to protect students from the area, following several attacks on them at Syrian universities, as sectarian clashes raged across the country.

Mustafa Bakkour said he was willing to accompany the students as they travelled to universities across Syria.

In a video statement, Bakkour added that he was prepared to implement any idea presented by residents of the southern Syrian province to ensure that students could return safely to their universities.

Last week, a video purported to show Syrian Druze being forced to leave their dormitories at Damascus University.

This follows the circulation of another video earlier this month, with the footage showing a Druze man insulting the Prophet Muhammad, believed to be fabricated.

The latter video ignited sectarian clashes between mostly Sunni pro-government militias and Druze fighters in which scores of people died.

Israel has also enflamed sectarian tensions by positioning itself as a "protector" of the Druze – something which the vast majority of Syrian Druze have rejected.

Bakkour said that Syrian Higher Education Minister Marwan Al-Halabi had begun setting up committees of students from Suweida in every university, who would coordinate with security forces in the event of any sectarian incitement or attack, on campus or on social media.

He also said that students who had participated in attacks on Druze had already been expelled from university, despite no official statement confirming this.