Israel, Syria leaders agree on ceasefire: US envoy
Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and factions from the Druze. Photo: Reuters
The leaders of Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire days after major Israeli strikes, a US envoy said on Friday, as he urged all sides in war-torn Syria to lay down arms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa "have agreed to a ceasefire" also backed by neighbors Turkey and Jordan, said Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who is also point man on Syria.
"We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors," he wrote on X.
Israel had on Wednesday carried out major air strikes inside the Syrian capital Damascus including on the army headquarters.
Israel said it was defending the Druze community after deadly clashes between the minority, which has a presence in Israel, and Bedouins in the southern Syrian area of Sweida.
Some diplomats and analysts see Israel as maximising the damage it can to weaken its historic adversary Syria, after Sharaa's Islamist forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian ally, in December.
The United States on Wednesday announced a deal in which Syrian government forces retreated from Sweida.
The State Department later said that the United States did not support the air strikes by Israel, its ally which relies on US diplomatic and military support. (AFP)
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