Jumblatt warns of 'ethnic cleansing' in Syria

Walid Jumblatt, chairperson of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party, has condemned Monday’s Israeli airstrike on Damascus. The Lebanese politician suggested the raids could supply the Assad regime with a pretext to accuse the opposition of treasonous espionage, further complicating the Syrian crisis. Jumblatt voiced his objection to the Geneva Conventions, which he described as "useless." He berated the international community’s refusal to arm the Syrian opposition despite evidence of chemical weapons usage.   The Progressive Socialist Party leader described foreign policies towards Syria as "equivocal and incomprehensible,” lamenting the governments' "failure to deal with the Syrian crisis." He cautioned that international inertia could enable President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to continue to obliterate cities and divide his population, paving the way for an “ethnic and sectarian cleansing” of Syrian coastal regions. Jumblatt noted that the Syrian regime systematically undermines its claims to protect minorities and preserve sectarian diversity. The Lebanese politician also insinuated criticism of Russian presidential envoy Michael Bogdanov without naming the latter.