logo
Syria evacuates Bedouins from Suwayda as shaky ceasefire holds

Syria evacuates Bedouins from Suwayda as shaky ceasefire holds

Al Jazeera3 days ago
The Syrian government is evacuating hundreds of Bedouin families trapped inside the southern city of Suwayda, where a fragile ceasefire is holding after Druze and Bedouin fighters fought for a week.
The first Bedouin families left on Monday on buses and trucks accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. They were taken to nearby Daraa as the government plans to evacuate 1,500 people.
'At least 500 people have already left on 10 buses this morning, and more are expected to exit Suwayda in the next few hours,' Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall said about noon (09:00 GMT) on Monday in a report from the capital, Damascus.
The clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin clans, which began on July 13, killed nearly 260 people and threatened to unravel Syria's post-war transition. The violence also displaced 128,571 people, according to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration.
Israel intervened and launched air attacks on Syria's Ministry of Defence buildings in the heart of Damascus. Israeli forces also hit Syrian government forces in Suwayda province, claiming it was protecting the Druze, whom it calls its 'brothers'.
Vall said some Bedouin families were evacuating the province voluntarily.
'There are seven districts of Suwayda that are inhabited partly or … mostly by Arab Bedouins, and they are all under threat – or they feel under threat – and some of them are willing to leave [on their own],' he said.
Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the SANA news agency that the evacuation process will also allow displaced civilians from Suwayda to return as efforts for a complete ceasefire are under way.
'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Suwayda to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.'
According to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the ceasefire agreed on Saturday says the Bedouin fighters will release Druze women they are holding captive and leave the province.
After talks for a captives swap fell through late on Sunday, the observatory and activist groups in Suwayda reported hearing what they said were Israeli air strikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and the Druze.
The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria.
Meanwhile, an initial Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy entered Suwayda on Sunday, carrying UN humanitarian assistance, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming its factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations.
The Druze minority largely celebrated the downfall in December of the al-Assad family, which ruled Syria for 53 years.
But al-Hijri, who had some allegiance to deposed President Bashar al-Assad, and his supporters have taken a more confrontational approach with al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,246
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,246

Al Jazeera

time5 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,246

Here is how things stand on Thursday, July 24: Fighting A Russian drone strike on an energy facility in Ukraine's northern region of Sumy caused power cuts for 220,000 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that the supply had been restored to most of those affected. Russia's air defence systems destroyed 33 Ukrainian drones overnight in six regions, the Russian Ministry of Defence said. Ceasefire Ukraine has brought home a new group of prisoners of war from Russia, Zelenskyy said, adding that the release means that more than 1,000 captive soldiers have now returned as a result of talks with Moscow in Turkiye. It is unclear how many Russian soldiers were returned in exchange for the Ukrainian prisoners. Russia and Ukraine discussed further prisoner swaps at a brief session of peace talks in Istanbul, but the sides remain far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders. 'We have progress on the humanitarian track, with no progress on a cessation of hostilities,' Ukraine's chief delegate, Rustem Umerov, said after the 40-minute talks. Umerov said Ukraine had proposed a meeting before the end of August between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow's chief delegate, Vladimir Medinsky, said Russia had agreed at the talks with Ukraine to exchange more prisoners of war, including more than 3,000 bodies of dead soldiers. Military aid The US Department of State said it approved $322m in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defence capabilities and provide armoured combat vehicles. The potential sales include $150m for the supply, maintenance, repair and overhaul of US armoured vehicles in Ukraine, and $172m for surface-to-air missile systems. US President Donald Trump touted a recent deal between the United States and NATO, whereby European allies would buy weapons and send them to Ukraine. 'They're going to pay the United States of America 100 percent of the cost of all military equipment, and much of it will go to Ukraine,' Trump said in Washington, DC. Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labelled as 'industrial refrigeration units' to avoid Western sanctions, according to three European security officials and documents reviewed by the Reuters news agency. Zelenskyy said he discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defences with Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar in Kyiv on Wednesday. Politics Zelenskyy has bowed to pressure from Ukraine's first wartime street protests, which took place over two days in cities across the country, demanding the reversal of a law curbing the independence of anticorruption agencies. In his evening address to the nation, Zelenskyy said he would submit a new bill to ensure the rule of law and retain the independence of the anticorruption agencies. Regional developments Russian Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers completed a routine patrol flight over international waters in the Bering Sea, the Russian Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry. Russia also began major navy drills involving more than 150 vessels and 15,000 military personnel in the Pacific and Arctic oceans, and in the Baltic and Caspian seas, the Defence Ministry said. The so-called 'July Storm' exercise from July 23 to July 27 will test the readiness of the Russian fleet for non-standard operations, the use of long-range weapons and other advanced technology, including unmanned systems.

Photos: Aid groups warn of ‘mass starvation' in Gaza
Photos: Aid groups warn of ‘mass starvation' in Gaza

Al Jazeera

time17 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Photos: Aid groups warn of ‘mass starvation' in Gaza

Published On 23 Jul 2025 23 Jul 2025 A coalition of 109 humanitarian and human rights organisations, including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Refugees International, has issued a stark warning: mass starvation is now spreading across Gaza, while critical aid remains blocked just outside the enclave. In their joint statement, the organisations demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the full removal of all restrictions on aid delivery. They condemned the Israeli government's siege for creating conditions of 'chaos, starvation, and death', citing that food, clean water, and medical supplies are unable to reach those in need due to severe access restrictions. At least 10 Palestinians have died of forced starvation in the past 24 hours in Gaza, bringing the death toll from hunger to 111, including at least 80 children, according to the territory's Ministry of Health. More than 800 Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while attempting to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli forces near Israel- and United States-backed GHF distribution points. The agency has come under sharp criticism, including from the United Nations, for its lack of neutrality and for allowing military involvement in aid distribution. Israel, which maintains control over all entry points into Gaza, denies responsibility for the food shortages.

Russia set for Ukraine talks in Turkiye, says progress will be ‘difficult'
Russia set for Ukraine talks in Turkiye, says progress will be ‘difficult'

Al Jazeera

time18 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Russia set for Ukraine talks in Turkiye, says progress will be ‘difficult'

A Russian delegation is heading to Istanbul before the latest round of peace talks with Ukrainian counterparts, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed, adding that he expected the negotiations to be 'very difficult'. A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Ankara Wednesday for bilateral meetings with Turkish officials ahead of the talks with Russia in Istanbul later, a Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters news agency. Kyiv is ready to take significant steps towards peace and a full ceasefire, the source added. The talks, the third iteration in recent months, will be held in the Turkish city on Wednesday evening, Peskov told reporters. The meeting, proposed by Ukraine last week amid sustained United States pressure to reach a ceasefire, will be the first between the sides in more than seven weeks, but expectations of a breakthrough are muted. 'No one expects an easy road,' Peskov told reporters. Previous rounds of talks have led to a series of exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers. But they failed to produce a ceasefire, as Russian negotiators refused to drop hardline demands that were not acceptable to Ukraine, including ceding four Ukrainian regions Russia claims as its own and rejecting Western military support. No 'miraculous breakthroughs' expected Peskov said the talks would cover the positions outlined in draft memoranda presented by each side, as well as prisoner exchanges. On Tuesday, he had said there was no reason 'to hope for some miraculous breakthroughs', saying such an outcome was 'hardly possible'. Rustem Umerov, a former defence minister and current secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, will lead Kyiv's delegation, while Russia's delegation will again be led by presidential adviser and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky. Ukraine previously complained that Medinsky was not a real decision-maker, accusing Russia of sending officials to the talks who were not empowered to make decisions to end the conflict. Zelenskyy outlines modest ambitions In a statement posted on social media platform X on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined his country's goals from the negotiations. They did not include talks over a detailed ceasefire agreement, but instead proposed making arrangements for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which could, in turn, lead to an end to the war. He said Ukraine sought 'to secure the release of our people from captivity and return of abducted children, to stop the killings, and to prepare a leaders' meeting aimed at truly bringing this war to an end'. 'Our position is fully transparent,' he said. 'Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it started. ' I held a meeting on the outcomes Ukraine needs from the negotiation efforts. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, reported on the implementation of the agreements reached at the second meeting with the Russian side in Istanbul, as… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 22, 2025 In another statement on Tuesday, he said work was being carried out to prepare rounds of prisoner exchanges agreed to at the previous talks with Russia. 'Throughout this spring and summer, we have managed to significantly intensify the exchange process,' he said. 'Among those freed from captivity are people who had been listed as missing, as well as those who have been held in Russian prisons and camps since before the full-scale war.' 'Keeping the dialogue going' Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera's Rory Challands said there was no expectation that the talks would 'be especially productive'. 'They are most likely going to retread the grounds that previous rounds of talks have trod, which is essentially …facilitating the exchange of prisoners, the handing over of soldiers' remains.' He said Kyiv was also eager to raise the issue of the return of children who had been taken from occupied territories by Russia. 'But I don't think there's any expectation here that these talks are going to be any significant breakthrough towards peace,' he said. 'It's likely to be just keeping the dialogue going and making sure that there is progress on at least those small fundamental areas.' Bloodshed continues The talks are due to be held as Russia continues its bloody offensive against its neighbour, with its forces mounting sustained efforts to break through at eastern and northeastern points on the 1,000km (620-mile) front line. On Wednesday, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had captured the settlement of Varachyne in Ukraine's northeast Sumy region, about 6km (3.7 miles) from the border. In recent weeks, Putin announced his intention to create a 'buffer zone' in the Sumy region by occupying Ukrainian border areas. In other recent violence, Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed a 66-year-old woman overnight, the dpa news agency reported, quoting regional military governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Three people, including two 13-year-olds, were injured, he said on Telegram. The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow had launched 71 drones and decoys overnight, of which 45 were intercepted or brought down, the agency reported.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store