Syrian Govt, Druze Minority Leaders Announce New Ceasefire As Israel Continues Strikes
Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida.
As Israel continues to strike, Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire on Wednesday. The development comes days after the clashes had threatened to unravel the country's postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel.
Following the ceasefire announcement, convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida. However, it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its aggression after the ceasefire announcement.
Israeli Airstrikes In Damascus
The announcement came after Israel launched rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, an escalation in a campaign that it said was intended to defend the Druze and push Islamic militants away from its border.
The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians.
The violence appeared to be the most serious threat yet to efforts by Syria's new rulers to consolidate control of the country after a rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted longtime despotic leader Bashar Assad in December, ending a nearly 14-year civil war.
Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders, saying it doesn't want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.
(With agency inputs)
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