Syrian government forces preparing to return to province amid renewed clashes
Officials were negotiating with Druze factions on an agreement to re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials. They said an agreement was reached, but later said the deployment was delayed, without giving an explanation.
Tens of thousands of people remained displaced by the violence and the United Nations has been unable to bring in much-needed humanitarian and medical aid because of ongoing clashes.
Clashes began on Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins' side against the Druze. Israel later in the week launched air strikes against Syrian forces in defence of the Druze.
Bedouin fighters gather in front of a burning shop (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)
The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.
Israel launched dozens of air strikes on convoys of government fighters and even struck the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military.
A truce mediated by the US, Turkey and Arab countries was announced on Wednesday. Under the accord, Druze factions and clerics were to maintain the internal security in Sweida as government forces pulled out, Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa said on Thursday.
By late Thursday clashes were flaring again between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a new wave of displacement.
The governor of the neighbouring province of Daraa said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of 'attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups'.
The UN's migration agency said on Friday that nearly 80,000 people had been displaced altogether since clashes started on Sunday.
It also noted that essential services, including water and electricity, have collapsed in Sweida, telecommunications systems are widely disrupted, and health facilities in Sweida and Daraa are under severe strain.
Bedouin groups and supporters arrived on Friday from other areas of Syria to join the fight. On the outskirts of Sweida, groups of them gathered in front of buildings that had been set ablaze.
In Israel, members of the Druze community had called for intervention to protect the Druze in Syria. But elsewhere in the region, Druze leaders have rejected Israeli intervention.
The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Lebanon, Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna, said on Friday at a gathering of Druze officials in Beirut that sectarian clashes in Syria 'give an excuse for Israeli intervention and for blowing up the situation in the region'.
'We do not accept to request protection from Israel, which we believe is harmful to our history and identity,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Hundreds march to Downing Street urging release of Israeli hostages
There were several flare-ups from counter protesters including one arrest as the 'national march for the hostages', organised by Stop the Hate UK and a number of Jewish organisations, made its way through central London on Sunday. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the conflict in Gaza. Stop the Hate said that protesters will urge the Prime Minister to prioritise the release of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive, before any recognition of a Palestinian state. Two men – one demonstrator and another man – were involved in a scuffle outside Downing St (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Among those due to attend and give a speech is Noga Guttman, the cousin of 24-year-old Evyatar David, who was kidnapped. Hamas released a video last weekend which showed Mr David looking skeletal and hollow-eyed in a dimly lit Gaza tunnel. Some protesters held Israeli flags and wore yellow ribbons as they congregated in Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn from 1.30pm. A scuffle broke out after at least two men shouted 'Free Palestine' in front of the march close to Trafalgar Square. The National March for the Hostages paused briefly just past Charing Cross. One man, who is not part of the march, has been arrested for common assault and a racially aggravated public order offence. — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 10, 2025 One man was seen being bundled to the ground after being surrounded by about a dozen people, while another man was seen being moved away by police officers after he began shouting. Earlier, on The Strand, a young man was kept away from the protesters after shouting 'Free Palestine'. Another man was carried away by officers after a scuffle broke out close to the gates of Downing Street. He was seen throwing water over a pro-Israel demonstrator before charging at him and putting his hand around the demonstrator's neck, before officers intervened. The Metropolitan Police said officers were deployed along the route 'to ensure the safety of those attending and to deal with any offences.' Foreign Secretary David Lammy has condemned Israeli plans to take over Gaza City (PA) It comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy joined his counterparts from Australia, Italy, Germany and New Zealand to condemn Israeli plans to take over Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, on Friday, that Israel would seek 'the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip', as well as 'Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip' and 'the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority'. In their joint statement, the foreign ministers said the plans 'risk violating international law' and 'any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law'. Sir Keir described Israel's plans as 'wrong' and called for 'a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution'. He said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to meet certain conditions, including addressing the humanitarian crisis, implementing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution. But he insisted the move was not a propaganda boost to Hamas, saying the 'terrorist organisation' could play 'no part in any future government'.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Netanyahu: Israel ‘has no choice but to finish job and complete defeat of Hamas'
He was speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem and defending a planned military offensive. He asserted that 'our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza'. Mr Netanyahu is also pushing back against what he calls a 'global campaign of lies' as condemnation of the plan grows both inside and outside Israel. He said there is a 'fairly short timetable' in mind for next steps in Gaza. The goals there, he said, include demilitarising Gaza, the Israeli military having 'overriding security control' there and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge. The prime minister also said he had directed Israel's military in recent days to 'bring in more foreign journalists' — which would be a striking development as they have not been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds. Mr Netanyahu again blamed many of Gaza's problems on the Hamas militant group, including civilian deaths, destruction and shortages of aid.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
At least 26 killed seeking aid in Gaza as Netanyahu faces growing criticism
Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to give a press conference for foreign and local media later on Sunday amid international condemnation of his plans. His address will come just before the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting on Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City. Hospital officials said they received bodies from areas where Palestinians were seeking aid, either along food convoy routes or near privately run aid distribution points across Gaza. The dead include 10 who were killed while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor which separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, said Nasser hospital. A further six people were killed while waiting for aid in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Shifa hospital in Gaza City which received the casualties. In central Gaza, witnesses said they first heard warning shots before the fire was aimed toward crowds of aid seekers trying to reach a food distribution site operated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The Associated Press cannot independently confirm who fired the shots. The Awda hospital in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp said four people were killed by Israeli gunfire. 'First, it was in the air, then they started to fire at the people,' said Sayed Awda, who waited hundreds of metres from the GHF site in the area. Six other aid seekers were killed while trying to reach GHF sites in Khan Younis and Rafah, Nasser hospital said. The US and Israel backed the foundation months ago as an alternative to the UN-run aid system, but its early operations have been marred by deaths and chaos, with aid-seekers coming under gunfire near the routes leading to the sites. Responding to AP inquiries, the GHF media office said: 'There were no incidents at or near our sites today and these incidents appear to be linked to crowds trying to loot aid convoy.' Israel's military also said there were no incidents involving Israeli troops near central Gaza aid sites. Seven people were killed in airstrikes, local hospitals reported — three people near the fishermen's port in Gaza City and four people, two of them children, in a strike that hit a tent in Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but has accused Hamas of operating from civilian areas. Israel's air and ground offensive has displaced most of the population and pushed the territory towards famine. Two more Palestinian children died of malnutrition-related causes on Saturday, bringing the death toll among children in Gaza to 100 since the war began. A total of 117 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June when the ministry started to count this age category, it said. The toll from hunger is not included in the ministry's death toll of 61,400 Palestinians in the war. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, does not distinguish between fighters or civilians, but says around half of the dead have been women and children. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. The prospect of expanding the war has sparked outrage both internationally and within Israel, where bereaved families and relatives of hostages still held in Gaza urged companies to declare a general strike next week. Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night in what local media called one of the largest anti-government protests in recent months. The families and their supporters hope to pressure the government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City, warning that expanding the war will endanger their loved ones. Of the 251 people abducted when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing about 1,200, around 50 remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Lishay Miran-Lavi, whose husband Omri is among the hostages, also appealed to US President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff to halt the war. 'The decision to send the army deeper into Gaza is a danger to my husband, Omri. But we can still stop this disaster,' she said. Also on Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz toured the northern part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He said Israel's military would remain in the area's refugee camps at least until the end of the year. Approximately 40,000 Palestinians have been driven from their homes this year in the West Bank's largest displacement since Israel captured the territory in 1967. Israel says the operations are needed to stamp out militancy, as violence by all sides has surged since Hamas's 2023 attack ignited war in Gaza. Mr Katz on Sunday said the number of warnings about attacks against Israelis in the West Bank had decreased by 80% since the operation began in January.
