Damascus News Platform – Media:
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al-Saleh apologized for using the term “killer” to describe the Euphrates River in previous statements.
Writing on his account on X in response to criticism from writer Ibrahim Al-Jabin regarding his remarks, Minister Al-Saleh said: “I apologize to you, Professor Ibrahim, if my description was inappropriate. But the large number of children drowning daily in the Euphrates has deeply pained me as well, despite all the warnings we continue to issue.”
Al-Jabin had criticized Al-Saleh’s statements, saying they reflected a lack of understanding among Syrians of the relationship between the people of the Euphrates basin cities and countryside and their river.
In a post on his X account, he wrote: “I read the statement of my brother and friend, His Excellency Minister of Emergency Raed Al-Saleh, the sincere son of the revolution, in which he said: ‘The Euphrates has turned into a killer.’ It saddened me that Syrians know nothing about the people of the Euphrates and their relationship with their great river, and that any description blaming the Euphrates provokes and hurts them. The Euphrates is not a killer. The killers are those who neglected the cities and countryside of the Euphrates basin for decades and exploited their resources. Today, anyone who delays rescuing them and rebuilding their regions is also a killer, whether from those areas or from elsewhere.”
The exchange between the minister and the writer sparked reactions from social media users, many of whom praised the efforts of the Ministry of Emergency Management and the minister’s interaction.
Ibrahim Al-Jabin commented on Minister Al-Saleh’s apology by saying: “No, my dear friend, Your Excellency the Minister… your description is as painful as reality itself is painful. That is why I called you ‘the sincere son of the revolution.’”
One commenter wrote: “This is the outcome of our great revolution: respectful and civilized criticism followed by a wonderful apology and admirable humility. We will rise again, God willing, despite all difficulties, as long as we have such examples.”
Earlier, Minister Raed Al-Saleh had stated: “My people along the banks of the Euphrates River, please, we do not want the holiday to turn into a tragedy.
The Euphrates River has become a serious threat due to rising water levels and strong currents. Swimming in it is certain death, even for skilled swimmers. Please do not risk your lives, pay attention to your children, and prevent them from swimming in it.
Ministry teams are currently operating through a joint operations room with the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor and the Ministry of Water Resources to reinforce some low-lying areas in the riverbed and prevent water from reaching them along the river’s course from Raqqa to Al-Bukamal.
The ministry has sent reinforcement teams equipped with heavy machinery from the governorates of Aleppo and Idlib, in addition to renting machinery from the same regions in order to save time and accelerate response operations.”
