Sheikh Al-Hajri accuses Damascus of imposing the Druze Spiritual Presidency statement under external pressure

Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hajri, the highest spiritual reference of the Unified Druze Muslim sect in As-Suwayda, revealed that the recent statement issued by the Spiritual Presidency, which called for surrendering weapons and welcomed the entry of government forces into the province, "was imposed by Damascus under external pressure".
Al-Hajri explained in a recorded speech that the statement was issued "to stop the shedding of the mountain's sons' blood", but it was met _as he put it_ with "a breach of the covenant and continued indiscriminate shelling of innocent civilians".
In his address to the Syrians, Al-Hajri said: "Today we are faced with two choices: either we are a united people who refuse humiliation and disgrace, or we accept decades of humiliation for ourselves and our children". He added: "We are facing a comprehensive genocide war, and we all _men and women, young and old_ must stand together in a stance of pride recorded by history".
He emphasized that the events in As-Suwayda "go beyond local disputes", calling on the Druze community and Syrians in general to "confront this barbaric campaign by all available means", in a hint indicating the region's need for external intervention to protect it.
Al-Hajri's statement comes hours after an official statement from the Spiritual Presidency calling for a ceasefire and cooperation with government forces, only to later announce that these positions "do not reflect free will", but came "under pressure".