This photo released by the official Syrian Arab news agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, addressing representatives and dignitaries of Syrian communities at the national dialogue conference convened by the country's new authorities in Damascus, Feb. 25, 2025. (Credit: SANA/AFP)
The closing statement of Syria's national dialogue conference held Tuesday in Damascus said that any armed groups outside the country's military were considered "outlawed" and affirmed their rejection of "provocative" statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said no Syrian armed forces should be deployed south of Damascus.
The statement said that attendees called for "a monopoly on weapons by the state, building a professional national army and regarding any armed formations outside the official institutions as outlawed groups" -- an implicit reference to Kurdish-led forces and other factions that have refused to lay down their arms since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
In a closing statement read out by Houda Atassi, a member of the conference's preparatory committee, the attendees stressed their "rejection of the provocative statements by the Israeli prime minister," calling on the international community to pressure Israel to stop any "aggression and violations," while condemning "the Israeli incursion into Syrian territory."
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