Badria recounts the details of what he described as the massacre that claimed the lives of about 3,000 people from Sweida, stressing that the attacks the province witnessed were a “planned operation” with a genocidal character, accompanied by a total media blackout that lasted for three days, during which the world knew nothing about what was happening in the mountains.

Badria says, “What happened spared neither stone, nor tree, nor human,” pointing out that the attacks targeted peaceful villages and violated sanctities and dignities, while international parties remained silent.

He added, in an angry tone, that the community “cried out for help,” but no one responded except Israel, which “answered the call and struck the tanks,” in his words.

In the course of his speech, Badria emphasized that Sweida’s decision today is clear: “We demand full independence,” explaining that the community no longer sees the central authority as a partner in the nation after what he described as the “political rape of Damascus,” and considered that what Sweida suffered was a direct result of the long-standing policies of repression and exclusion.

Badria continued, saying that the mountain, which had sheltered Syrians and refused to join the war during Bashar al-Assad’s regime, paid a heavy price when it became a place where violations were committed under the pretexts of security and sovereignty. He added that the collective memory of the people of Sweida can no longer overcome these wounds or return to the situation that existed before them.