New clashes rock Syria's Druze heartland as tribal fighters reinforce Bedouin
The United Nations called for an end to the "bloodshed" and demanded an "independent" investigation of the violence, which has claimed at least 638 lives since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The renewed fighting raised questions over the authority of interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose interim government also has difficult relations with the Kurdish and Alawite minorities. It was Sharaa who ordered government forces to pull out, saying that mediation by the United States and others had helped avert a "large-scale escalation" with Israel.
Renewed fighting erupted Friday between Bedouin tribal factions and the Druze at the entrance to Sweida. About 200 tribal fighters clashed with armed Druze men from the city using machine guns and shells, while the Observatory also reported fighting and "shelling on neighbourhoods in Sweida city".
In the corridors of the Sweida National Hospital, a foul odour emanated from the swollen and disfigured bodies piled up in refrigerated storage units. A small number of doctors and nurses at the hospital worked to treat the wounded arriving from the ongoing clashes, some in the hallways.
The UN's International Organization for Migration on Friday said "79,339 people have been displaced since 13 July, including 20,019 on 17 July."
- Tribal back-up -
Tribal reinforcements from across Syria gathered in villages around Sweida on Friday to reinforce local Bedouin, whose longstanding enmity towards the Druze erupted into violence last weekend. Anas al-Enad, a tribal chief from the central city of Hama, said he and his men had made the journey to the village of Walgha, Northwest of Sweida, because "the Bedouin called for our help and we came to support them."
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The Britain-based Observatory said "the deployment of tribal fighters to Sweida province was facilitated by government forces, because government forces are unable to deploy to Sweida under the terms of the security agreement with Israel."
Israel, which bombed the Syrian military in Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to put pressure on the government to withdraw, said Friday that it was sending aid to the Druze community in Sweida. The two million shekel (nearly $600,000) package includes food parcels and medical supplies, the ministry said. A ceasefire was supposed to take effect on Thursday, but Sharaa's office accused Druze fighters of violating it. Sweida has been heavily damaged in the fighting and its mainly Druze inhabitants have been deprived of water and electricity, while communication lines have been cut.
- UN demands independent probe -
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for an end to the bloodshed, saying "the protection of all people must be the utmost priority." He demanded "independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations" adding that "those responsible must be held to account."
The International Committee for the Red Cross warned that "health facilities are overwhelmed, medical supplies are dwindling and power cuts are impeding the preservation of human remains in overflowing morgues."
The latest violence erupted on Sunday after the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant by local Bedouin triggered tit-for-tat abductions, the Britain-based Observatory said. The Islamist-led government sent in the army, promising to put a halt to the fighting, but witnesses and the Observatory said the troops sided with the Bedouin and committed many abuses against Druze civilians as well as fighters.
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